Iraq
Iraqi army soldiers celebrate as they hold an ISIS flag they captured during a military operation to regain control of a village outside Mosul on November 29, 2016. Photo: Hadi Mizban/AP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi security forces on Saturday said they had killed six suspected Islamic State (ISIS) members including two suicide bombers in Salahaddin province, on the same day that Iraq declared victory against the terror group five years ago.
Six ISIS suspects, including two suicide bombers, were killed in an Iraqi army operation in northwestern Salahaddin province, Iraqi state media cited the country’s Security Media Cell as saying, adding that a local shepherd lost his life in the clashes.
“This operation is considered one of the distinguished qualitative and proactive operations that confirm the depth and commitment of the sons of Iraq in chasing down and pursuing the terrorist elements of ISIS,” the cell stated.
The operation was also conducted on the fifth anniversary of Victory Day, a public holiday declared five years ago by then-prime minister Haider al-Abadi commemorating Iraq’s victory over ISIS.
In November, Iraq launched the eighth phase of an ongoing operation targeting ISIS remnants in Mosul, two months after the seventh phase was launched in Salahaddin and Diyala.
Iraq in September announced the killing of Abu Fatima, the military commander of the group in Salahaddin province, and described him as one of the “dangerous terrorists” that had “participated in terrorist attacks against security forces and civilians.”
ISIS seized control of vast parts of Iraq in 2014 during its brazen rise to power, but the terror group was declared territorially defeated in 2017. While the group remains devoid of any territorial control, it still continues to pose security risks through abductions, hit-and-run attacks, and bombings, especially in the disputed territories.
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