Iraqi airstrike kills 6 ISIS suspects near Erbil province 

At least six suspects belonging to the group were killed in the area by the airstrike, the spokesperson for the Iraqi Commander-in-Chief Yehia Rasool announced late Sunday. 
Two Kurdish Peshmerga target a suspected ISIS hideout on Mount Qarachogh, Makhmour district in southwest Erbil, May 15, 2022. (Photo: Sirwan Barzani/Twitter)
Two Kurdish Peshmerga target a suspected ISIS hideout on Mount Qarachogh, Makhmour district in southwest Erbil, May 15, 2022. (Photo: Sirwan Barzani/Twitter)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Six suspected ISIS militants were killed in an Iraqi airstrike carried out in support of the ongoing Iraqi-Peshmerga joint operation against the group, a top security official announced.

The Peshmerga and Iraqi forces launched the joint operations on Mount Qarachogh southwest of the Kurdish capital Erbil on Sunday. The mountainous area has been a sanctuary for the group since its territorial defeat in 2017, according to Iraqi and Kurdish security officials. 

At least six suspects belonging to the group were killed in the area by the airstrike, the spokesperson for the Iraqi Commander-in-Chief Yehia Rasool announced late Sunday. 

Peshmerga forces on the ground also killed two "ISIS members" during the operation, tweeted the head of Peshmerga forces' Sixth Sector, Sirwan Barzani. 

The Kurdish forces destroyed three tunnels and caves, according to Barzani. 

Read More: Peshmerga destroy ISIS hideouts on Qarachogh mountain

Some Peshmerga were "lightly wounded" in the operation, he added. 

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 the security forces and civilians.