BAGHDAD, May 18 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi army on Saturday killed six Islamic State (IS) militants and destroyed their hideouts in Iraq's central province of Salahudin, the Iraqi Defense Ministry said.
The Iraqi army's gunships pounded an abandoned house believed to be used as a hideout by IS militants in a desert area in Salahudin, the ministry said in a statement.
The troops later searched the site and found six bodies of IS militants with three explosive vests and six roadside bombs, according to the statement.
Acting on intelligence reports, the troops and the gunships raided two other IS hideouts with a tunnel between them in Salahudin's desert.
After searching the site, the troops found an explosive vest and other equipment before blowing up the hideouts.
The security situation in Iraq was dramatically 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.
