BAGHDAD, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi military said on Tuesday that its forces killed three Islamic State (IS) militants in the northern part of the country.
The three IS militants were killed in Wadi al-Shay, a rugged area southwest of the northern city of Kirkuk, the media office of the Joint Operations Command (JOC) said in a statement.
It added that the operation was based on intelligence reports and the three militants had been tracked for more than three days before the operation.
Meanwhile, a statement issued by the Iraqi intelligence service said that "intelligence personnel tracked down some IS leading figures in more than one country and were able to arrest them in a non-neighboring country and transfer them to Iraq."
The arrested terrorists, who are believed to be involved in criminal acts inside and outside Iraq, will be handed over to the Iraqi judicial authorities to receive their just punishment, according to the statement.
The statement did not give further details about when and where exactly the terrorists were arrested, nor did it mention their number.
The security situation in Iraq has been improving since the defeat of the IS in 2017. However, the IS militants have since melted into urban centers, deserts, and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians. ■
