BAGHDAD, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Altogether two Islamic State (IS) militants and a civilian were killed Saturday in two incidents in the Iraqi provinces of Diyala and Salahudin, security sources said.
In eastern Iraq, an army helicopter gunship conducted an airstrike, based on intelligence reports, on an IS hideout in al-Zour area in north of Diyala's provincial capital Baquba, which is located some 65 km northeast of Baghdad, Alaa al-Saadi from the provincial police told Xinhua.
The airstrike killed two IS militants and destroyed their hideout, al-Saadi said.
A joint force from the army, police and paramilitary Hashd Shaabi launched an operation in the attacked area looking for more IS militants, al-Saadi added.
In another incident, a roadside bomb went off near a garbage truck in the town of Baiji, some 200 km north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, killed the truck driver and wounded two workers, Hussein Ibrahim, a local police officer, told Xinhua.
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 guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians.
