Suspected ISIS fighters killed in Iraqi airstrike in Tuz Khurmatu, says military

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi fighter jets destroyed a number of hideouts and killed suspected ISIS militants in Tuz Khurmatu’s remote areas in Diyala province, the military announced on Tuesday.

A number of "terrorists" harbored inside a hideout in Mount Garaj were all killed after the destruction of the cave, the Security Media Cell, said. 

The military media did not elaborate further on the number of causalities.

Iraqi air force regularly targets suspected ISIS positions in the remote areas of Kirkuk, Diyala, and Saladin provinces, where the group’s remnants are believed to be regrouping following their 2017 territorial defeat. 

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 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.