BAGHDAD, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Four Islamic State (IS) militants were killed in an airstrike in Iraq's northern province of Kirkuk, the Iraqi military said on Thursday.
Iraqi warplanes carried out Tuesday airstrikes on IS hideouts in the rugged area of Wadi Zghaitoun, southwest of Kirkuk, the capital city of the cognominal province that is some 250 km north of Baghdad.
The airstrikes were conducted based on intelligence reports, according to a statement from the Security Media Cell, a media outlet affiliated with the Iraqi Joint Operations Command.
On Thursday morning, a joint army and intelligence force arrived at the bombarded site, found four bodies of IS militants, seized four rifles, and carried out controlled explosions of four explosive belts and other equipment, the statement said.
The security situation in Iraq has improved since the defeat of the IS in 2017. However, IS remnants have melted into urban centers, deserts, and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians. ■
