BAGHDAD, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Two Islamic State (IS) militants were killed and two others captured Wednesday in an ambush by Iraqi security forces in the northern Nineveh province.
A force from Nineveh's Operations Command ambushed a group of IS militants on an island in the Tigris River named Hawi Aslan, near the town of Hammam al-Alil, some 20 km south of the provincial capital Mosul, a statement by the media office of the Joint Operations Command (JOC) said.
The troops killed two of the extremist militants, captured two others and seized their boat, the statement said.
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 hit-and-run attacks against security forces and civilians.
