Iraqi air force targets suspected ISIS hideout in Kirkuk

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Iraqi air force on Sunday struck an alleged Islamic State (ISIS) hideout in the province of Kirkuk, the latest in a series of recent airstrikes carried out by Iraqi security forces as the country bolsters efforts to destroy terrorist cells and sanctuaries.

F-16 jets delivered an airstrike in the Zghitun valley in western Kirkuk, obliterating an "important den of ISIS terrorist gangs," Iraq's Security Media Cell announced. 

The attack was launched based on “intelligence gathered by the counter-terrorism service, in cooperation with the targeting cell of the Joint Operations Command,” the cell said in a tweet.

They proclaimed that security forces will "continue to track down terrorist elements in various regions, and will work to end their presence in the land of Mesopotamia."

The Iraqi air force in recent months has ramped up efforts against ISIS, destroying multiple hideouts and killing tens of affiliates.

On Tuesday, an Iraqi airstrike on a cave in Nineveh resulted in the deaths of seven alleged ISIS members.

Two weeks ago, another Iraqi airstrike inflicted a devastating blow on the terrorist organization, killing nine members in a hideout In Diyala province.

The Iaqi air force killed four ISIS members in an airstrike in Salahaddin province last month. 

ISIS seized control of swathes of land in Iraq in 2014. The group was declared territorially defeated in 2017 but it continues to carry out bombings, hit-and-run attacks, and abductions across several provinces. ISIS remnants are particularly active in parts of northern Iraq that are disputed by Erbil and Baghdad, including in the provinces of Kirkuk, Diyala, and Salahaddin.

With ISIS being increasingly isolated from the population, experts have suggested that a potential resurgence is unlikely despite frequent attacks.