BAGHDAD, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Two Islamic State (IS) militants and two paramilitary Hashd Shaabi fighters were killed on Tuesday during a clash in a rural area south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.
Based on intelligence reports, Iraqi security forces carried out an operation in the al-Bahbahani area, some 65 km south of Baghdad, and clashed with two IS militants wearing explosive belts, spokesman of the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi forces Yahia Rasoul said in a statement.
The troops killed an IS militant and wounded another, who fled the scene but was killed later by the Iraqi forces that chased him, Rasoul said.
In a separate statement, the government-backed Hashd Shaabi forces said that their paramilitary fighters took part in the operation in the al-Bahbahani area.
Over the past months, Iraqi security forces have conducted operations against the extremist militants in response to their intensified their attacks. ■
