Four senior Islamic State (IS) leaders have been killed during security operations in the eastern Iraqi province of Diyala, a security source was quoted as saying according to iraqinews.com.
“The security crackdowns, carried out by the Counter-Terrorism Service in Hamreen mountain range, some 65 km northeast of the provincial capital Baquba, left four senior Islamic State leaders killed,” the source told Baghdad Today news website.
“The slain militants have been behind several IS terrorist and violence acts that targeted innocent people in Diyala,” the source said, adding that the security operations resulted in bringing about security and stability in the province.
In January 2015, Iraqi forces announced liberation of Diyala province from Islamic State extremist militants who proclaimed an “Islamic Caliphate” in Iraq and Syria in 2014.
The province has seen months of fighting between Iraqi troops and IS militants especially in the Jalawla and Saadiyah areas in the province’s north and areas near the town of Muqdadiyah.
In December 2017, former Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi declared final victory over the terrorist Islamic State group three years after the militant group captured about a third of Iraq’s territory.
