BAGHDAD, June 30 (Xinhua) -- A total of 11 Islamic State (IS) militants were killed in airstrikes by international coalition aircraft in Iraq's northern province of Nineveh, Iraqi military said on Tuesday.
Based on intelligence reports, the international coalition aircraft conducted airstrikes on a tunnel used as a headquarters for IS militants in Ayn al-Jahash area in the southern part of the provincial capital Mosul, the media office of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command (JOC) said in a statement.
The airstrikes resulted in the killing of 10 IS militants, including a local leader, the statement said, adding that an Iraqi army force killed another IS militant when they arrived at the tunnel to check the result of the airstrikes.
The airstrikes came as the extremist IS militants have intensified their attacks on the security forces, including Hashd Shaabi forces, and civilians in the formerly IS-controlled Sunni provinces, resulting in the killing and wounding of dozens.
The security situation in Iraq has been improving since Iraqi security forces fully defeated the IS militants across the country late in 2017.
However, IS remnants have since melted in urban areas or deserts and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians. Enditem
