Iraqi fighter jets destroy suspected ISIS hideout in Mount Hamrin

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi F-16s on Saturday destroyed a suspected so-called Islamic State hideout in Mount Hamrin in Diyala province, as the Iraqi Armed Forces and the  International Coalition have warned of the group’s persistent threat.

The fighter jets completely destroyed the hideout in the remote area, where the group’s remnants are suspected to have regrouped following the territorial defeat it had suffered in 2017, according to a press release from Iraq's Security Media Cell.

The release did not reveal whether any causalities had been reported.

The 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 anti-ISIS US-led coalition's combat mission in late 2021, the Iraqi Air Force has increased its air campaign against the remnants of the group.

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 of 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.