BAGHDAD, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Four Islamic State (IS) militants were killed Saturday in an airstrike in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, a provincial security official said.
Acting on intelligence reports, Iraqi helicopter gunships pounded an IS hideout near the town of Abu Saida, some 95 km northeast of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, killing four of the extremist militants, Alaa al-Saadi from Diyala's Operations Command told Xinhua.
The bombardment came as the security forces were conducting search operation to hunt down IS remnants in Hawdh al-Waqf agricultural area, which is a cluster of villages near Diyala River, al-Saadi said.
The security situation in Iraq has been dramatically improved after Iraqi security forces fully defeated the extremist IS militants across the country late in 2017.
However, groups and individuals of extremist militants melted or regrouped in urban and rugged areas, carrying out attacks against the security forces and civilians.
