Four tunnels and four caves used by remnants of the jihadist group were destroyed, US Army Colonel Sean Ryan tweeted on Wednesday, without giving exact operational details.
Four ISIS fighters were killed in action and 17 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were detonated, he added, sharing an image of the devices.
“These were multiple operations launched in the last 72 hours,” Ryan told Rudaw English.
#ISF elements launched operations with support of Iraqi AF and under joint operations to destroy 4 ISIS tunnels and 4 caves in the mountains of Salahuddin, also detonating 17 IED’s and 4 ISIS elements KIA, to protect the Iraqi citizens. @IraqiGovt @IraqMoDSpox pic.twitter.com/VeCxnJDA5J
— OIR Spokesman (@OIRSpox) October 31, 2018
The raids, coordinated under joint operations command, were launched “to protect the Iraqi citizens,” he tweeted.
Since Iraq’s former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared the defeat of ISIS militarily in December 2017, analysts and intelligence officials have warned ISIS is returning to its earlier tactics of bombings, kidnappings, and insurgency.
By the summer of 2016, ISIS had lost all of its major urban strongholds to Iraqi and Kurdish forces backed by US-led coalition airpower. Remnants of the group remain active in Kirkuk, Saladin, and Diyala provinces, particularly around the Hamrin Mountains.
ISIS claimed responsibility for an attack on a Shiite Arbaeen vigil in Khanaqin, Diyala province, on Tuesday, which killed two women and injured one other civilian.
According to the Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC), September saw a spike in terrorism related incidents and unrest across northern Iraq, including attacks on villages, security personnel, and electricity infrastructure.
The Kurdish Peshmerga recently participated in joint anti-ISIS operations alongside the ISF and coalition forces near Makhmour, where the jihadists had built similar tunnels and earthworks.
The ISF and Iraqi Air Force are increasingly taking the lead on counter-terrorism operations. Although it intends to maintain a presence on the ground in Iraq, the US military has begun a troop drawdown in the region.
