12 IS militants killed in 2 attacks in Iraq

A total of 12 Islamic State (IS) militants were killed Wednesday in a raid and an airstrike in the Iraqi provinces of Salahudin and Diyala, security sources said.

In the central province of Salahudin, an army force raided a house used as an IS hideout at a village in northwest of the provincial capital Tikrit, some 170 km north of Baghdad, said a statement by Abdul Muhsin Hatem, commander of Salahudin operations.

During the raid, the house which appeared to be booby-trapped was detonated, killing an army officer, and after searching the destroyed house, the troops discovered a bunker where 10 IS militants were hiding, sparking a heavy clash that resulted in the killing of all the militants, the statement said.

In Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, the Iraqi aircraft conducted an airstrike, based on intelligence reports, on an IS position in a rugged area located near the provincial border with neighboring Salahudin province, destroying the position and killing two IS militants inside, Sadiq al-Husseini, head of the security committee of Diyala's provincial council, told Xinhua.

The Iraqi forces are continuing security operations in different areas in central Iraq to track the extremist IS militants and destroy their locations.

The security situation in Iraq was improved after Iraqi security forces fully defeated the extremist IS militants across the country late in 2017.

IS remnants, however, have since melted in urban areas or resorted to deserts and rugged areas as safe havens, carrying out frequent hit-and-run attacks against security forces and civilians.