BAGHDAD, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi security forces killed on Wednesday nine militants of the extremist Islamic State (IS) group, including three senior IS leaders, in Kirkuk province during an ongoing anti-IS operation in the country, the Iraqi military said.
Fierce clashes erupted at dawn when a joint force from Counter-Terrorism Service and National Intelligence Service attacked IS hideouts in a rugged area named Wadi al-Shay in the southern part of the province, Yahia Rasoul, spokesman of the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi forces, said in a statement.
Some of IS militants were detonated after the soldiers opened fire on their explosive vests, while the others were shot dead during the clashes, the statement said.
The killed were three senior IS leaders, two militants responsible for IS warehouses in the province, and four other militants, Rasoul added.
The clashes on Wednesday were part of an ongoing operation, which was launched on Friday morning, to hunt down IS militants in several areas across the country.
The ongoing operation is part of the security forces' efforts against the recent increase in IS deadly activities, including the twin suicide bombings on Jan. 21 that killed 32 and wounded more than 100 others in Baghdad, as well as the attack on Hashd Shaabi outpost in Salahudin on Jan. 23 that killed 11 paramilitary members and wounded 12 others.
The security situation has been relatively improved in Iraq since the Iraqi security forces fully defeated IS militants across the country late in 2017.
However, sporadic deadly incidents still occur in the war-ravaged country as IS remnants have since melted into urban areas or deserts and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians. Enditem
