BAGHDAD, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- A total of six Islamic State (IS) militants were killed on Sunday in an airstrike in Iraq's northern province of Nineveh, the Iraqi military said.
Based on intelligence reports, the Iraqi forces carried out an airstrike on an IS hideout near the village of Sheikh Yunis in the west of the provincial capital Mosul, some 400 km north of Baghdad, Yahia Rasoul, spokesperson of the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi forces, said in a statement.
The airstrike came as the Iraqi security forces have been carrying out deadly attacks against IS militants after the militants intensified their activities during the past months in the predominantly Sunni provinces.
The security situation in Iraq has been improving since the Iraqi forces defeated the IS in 2017. However, IS remnants have since melted into urban centers, deserts, and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians. ■
