Iraqi F-16s destroy ISIS hideouts in Kirkuk province 

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi Air Force F-16s destroyed ISIS hideouts in the rural areas of Kirkuk province on Wednesday. 

The two hideouts were caves in the Qushqaya area of the oil-rich province, according to the Iraqi Security Media Cell, the official media of the country’s armed forces. 

The strikes were carried out after ground forces gathered intelligence on the targets, according to the Media Cell. 

Following the strikes, an army unit was dispatched to assess the impact of the strikes, it added. 

The Iraqi Air Force recently intensified airstrikes against ISIS targets, particularly in remote areas where the group’s remnants operate and plot attacks, especially in the disputed territories between Baghdad and Erbil. 

Earlier this month, an Iraqi airstrike killed two high-ranking ISIS leaders in the country’s western Anbar province. 

The surge in air raids comes after the US-led coalition against ISIS concluded its combat mission in Iraq and transited to a strictly advisory and training mission in the country. 

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