BAGHDAD, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Four militants of the extremist Islamic State (IS) group were killed on Saturday in an airdrop operation in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, a police source said.
According to intelligence reports, a commando force carried out the airdrop operation on an IS hideout in Himreen mountain range in the northern part of the province, destroying the hideout and killing four IS militants, including a local leader, Allaa al-Saadi from Diyala's provincial police told Xinhua.
Despite repeated military operations in Diyala, IS remnants are still hiding in some rugged areas near the border with Iran and the vast areas extending from the western part of the province to the Hamreen mountain range in the north of the provincial capital Baquba, about 65 km northeast of Baghdad.
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
