BAGHDAD, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- A total of 10 Islamic State (IS) militants were killed in an operation by the Iraqi security forces in northern Iraq, the Iraqi military said on Tuesday.
A force from the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS), backed by the Iraqi and international coalition aircraft, conducted an operation in Qara-Chokh Mountain near the town of Makhmour, some 60 km southeast of Nineveh's provincial capital Mosul, the CTS said in a statement without saying when the operation was carried out.
The operation resulted in the killing of 10 IS militants and the destruction of nine caves used by the extremist militants, the statement said.
The operation came as the IS militants have intensified their attacks on the security forces and civilians in the formerly IS-controlled Sunni provinces.
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
