Twenty jihadists of the Islamic State militant group were killed Tuesday in air raids by the Iraqi Air Force in the oil-rich province of Kirkuk, a military source was quoted as saying according to iraqinews.com.
“Iraqi warplanes, backed by the U.S.-led international coalition, hit a gathering of Islamic State militants in Daquq district in eastern Kirkuk, leaving 20 jihadists killed,” the source told Algahd Press website.
“Most of the slain Islamic State terrorists came from Syria and were implicated in several terrorist attacks against security forces and civilians in Kirkuk,” the source said.
He added that two more IS jihadists were killed while trying to infiltrate into Kirkuk coming from the Syrian city of al-Baghuz.
Iraq declared the collapse of Islamic State’s territorial influence in November 2017 with the recapture of Rawa, a city on Anbar’s western borders with Syria, which was the group’s last bastion in Iraq.
IS declared a self-styled “caliphate” in a third of Iraq and neighboring Syria in 2014. A government campaign, backed by a U.S.-led international coalition and paramilitary forces, was launched in 2016 to retake IS-held regions, managing to retake all havens, most notably the city of Mosul, the group’s previously proclaimed capital.
