BAGHDAD, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Iraq aircraft on Wednesday killed five Islamic State (IS) militants and destroyed their hideout in central Iraq, a provincial official said.
"Iraqi aircraft bombarded a hideout of terrorist Daesh (IS group) militants in the village of Albu Sulaibi near the border of the provinces of Salahudin and Diyala," Mohammed al-Obiedi, head of al-Udhiem town council, told Xinhua.
The airstrike completely destroyed the hideout and left five IS militants killed, al-Obiedi said.
The hideout is usually used by IS group as a gathering site for their militants and a weapon armory, he added.
The village of Albu Sulaibi is part of the rugged Mteibijah area, some 100 km southeast of Salahudin's provincial capital of Tikrit.
It has long been a hot bed for the extremist IS militant despite repeated operations by the Iraqi security forces to hunt them down as the militants are using the area as a launching pad to attack civilians and the security forces in the cities in Salahudin and Diyala provinces.
On Dec. 9, 2017, Iraq officially declared full liberation of its territories from IS militants after Iraqi forces recaptured all the areas once seized by the extremist group.
However, small IS groups and individuals regrouped in desert and rugged areas and carried out attacks against the security forces and civilians despite operations from time to time to hunt them down.
