Iraqi security authorities announced on Thursday the targeting of "key hideouts" of ISIS near Kirkuk province in northern Iraq through an airstrike. The Security Media Cell stated in a report that "the tactical force from the intelligence agency, in coordination with the Iraqi air force, carried out a special operation in the Hamrin mountain range, resulting in the death of four individuals."
The statement added that the operation included an airstrike aimed at "the main hideouts in the Hamrin mountain range," noting that the targeted site "is considered a center for launching the terrorist operations that have recently occurred in Kirkuk." The cell released a video showing the moment the airstrike was executed, explaining that clashes occurred during the operation, which resulted in "the killing of one terrorist while another detonated himself after being surrounded."
On the fifth of this month, 13 elements of the Iraqi federal police were killed and three others injured in an attack on a security checkpoint on the outskirts of southern Kirkuk, carried out by the Islamic State organization. This attack is one of the deadliest that security forces have faced since the beginning of this year in southern Kirkuk, where sleeper cells of the organization exist, which was officially defeated in 2017.
The Islamic State lost control of the areas it occupied until the end of 2017; however, its sleeper cells continue to launch attacks, often during the night, against security forces in remote areas. These cells exploit territories in disputed areas where Kurdish Peshmerga forces and federal government forces are present.
