Iraqi fighter jets kill four ISIS militants, including leader, says security

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – Iraqi F-16 fighter jets struck a remote area in Diyala province on Sunday and killed at least four suspected ISIS militants, including a leader, a military spokesperson said.

Based on prior intelligence, the fighter jets struck a hideout in Al-Quba village, where the suspected militants were hiding on Sunday night, Yehia Rasool, the military spokesperson for Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al-Sudani, said. 

Security forces launched an assessment of the hit the following day and found four dead bodies, including the corpse of Majeed Mayouf, who is considered the terror group’s senior leader in the area, Rasool added.

Weapons and other equipment were destroyed at the site, according to the official.

The Iraqi Air Force regularly announces targeting the suspected militants, mostly in Kirkuk, Saladin, and Diyala Provinces, where ground operations against the radical group are also regularly conducted.

Following the conclusion of the US-led Coalition's combat mission in late 2021, the Iraqi Air Force has increased its air campaign against the remnants of ISIS.

As part of these efforts, Iraqi airstrikes have killed at least 70 ISIS militants, a top official said in June.

The terror group occupied approximately one-third of Iraq for nearly three years, including its second-largest city Mosul.

Since the group's self-styled caliphate was destroyed by Kurdish, Iraqi, and international forces, it has regrouped in remote parts of the country. It continues to carry out hit-and-run attacks against security forces and civilians.

The Kurdistan Region's Peshmerga forces regularly conduct joint operations with the Iraqi forces against ISIS in the so-called "disputed territories" between Erbil and Baghdad, where the group is most active.