Iraqi Security Forces destroy 18 ISIS hideouts in Diyala: coalition

During the operation, near Hamrin mountains, 11 villages and orchards were cleared of the militants.
Recently, Iraqi security forces carried out a two-day operation in Diyala against ISIS sleeper cells. (Photo: Gen Yehia Rasool/Twitter).
Recently, Iraqi security forces carried out a two-day operation in Diyala against ISIS sleeper cells. (Photo: Gen Yehia Rasool/Twitter).

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) destroyed 18 Islamic State (ISIS) hideouts in Diyala, sixty kilometers north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, on Monday with support of the US-led coalition.

“Our shared mission to #DefeatDaesh (ISIS) continues as we transition from combat ops to #AdviseAssistEnable,” the official account of Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR), the US-led coalition against ISIS, tweeted.

The spokesman for the ISF, Gen Yehia Rasool, also tweeted that the Iraqi forces continued an operation in Diyala with coalition and Iraqi air support for a second day.

During the operation, near Hamrin mountains, 11 villages and orchards were cleared of the militants.

The ISF also found 32 explosive devices, 10 rockets, and rocket launchers.

ISIS remnants regularly launch attacks in territories disputed by Baghdad and Erbil due to a security vacuum between ISF and Kurdish Peshmerga front lines in disputed provinces such as Diyala and Kirkuk.

Diyala has faced security challenges following the territorial defeat of ISIS in 2017. Also, in September, three Iraqi soldiers were killed in a suspected ISIS attack in rural Diyala.

Read More: Three Iraqi soldiers killed in suspected ISIS attack in rural Diyala: Source

Recently, the ISF have carried out several operations against ISIS sleeper cells. On Friday, these forces killed a senior ISIS figure in an operation south of the disputed Kirkuk province.

On Nov. 9, the ISF claimed that they had destroyed several ISIS tunnels and hideouts in Makhoul mountains in Iraq's Salahuddin.

On Nov. 6, the ISF and the Peshmerga carried out a rare joint operation in the disputed territory of Makhmour.