Kirkuk (Iraqinews.com) – Pro-government troops launched in the wee hours of Monday a military operation in al-Hawija district in Kirkuk, managing to kill five foreign militants of the Islamic State group, a military source was quoted as saying. Speaking to Almaalomah website, the source said, “two vehicles carrying some Islamic State members attempted infiltration into Udhaim region, before al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) noticed them and repelled the attack.”

The troops, according to the source, “managed to burn the two vehicles killing those on board.”

On Wednesday, news reports quoted sources as saying that Iraqi troops killed Abu Nabil al-Iraqi, the mastermind of several terrorist attacks launched by Islamic State, and seven of his aides in a military operation in northeastern Diyala. The Islamic State group appeared on the international scene in 2014 when it seized large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria, declaring the establishment of an Islamic “caliphate” from Mosul city. Despite the group’s crushing defeat at its main havens across Iraq, Islamic State continues to launch sporadic attacks against troops with security reports warning that the militant group still poses a threat against stability in the country.
An al-Hashd al-Shaabi commander announces the deaths of 90 Islamic State members in Kirkut, Iraq.