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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Iraq’s air force and counter terrorism units destroyed multiple Islamic State (ISIS) hideouts and caves in a three-day operation in Kirkuk province and the Hamrin mountain range, a top military spokesperson said on Saturday.
“The Iraqi air force heroes were able to destroy a number of dens and caves inside the Hamrin mountains after the coordinates were sent by the air controllers to the counter-terrorism units,” read a tweet from Yehia Rasool.
“The Counter-Terrorism Service proceeded with a ground advance in the "Abu Khanajer" valley, south of Kirkuk, in which they managed to destroy a number of dens that were used by ISIS terrorist gangs,” he added in another tweet.
The operation comes as ISIS continues to launch attacks across areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad.
“The aim of this operation was to cut off the route and supply of ISIS gangs in the Riyadh and al-Rashad districts in Kirkuk governorate and to destroy the alternative dens that they resort to when besieging them,” Rasool added.
Kirkuk has been a hotspot for ISIS activity, lying in a security vacuum exploited by militants to launch attacks on both civilians and members of the security forces. Six ISIS militants were arrested in Kirkuk on Wednesday, state media reported.
Diyala, Salahaddin and Nineveh provinces are also considered vulnerable to ISIS attacks.
The US-led global coalition last week announced that their air forces had destroyed five ISIS hideouts in the Hamrin mountain range.
In its weekly propaganda newspaper al-Naba, ISIS claimed on Thursday that it had conducted 9 attacks across Iraq between May 13 and May 19, killing and injuring 11 people, a toll significantly lower than in previous weeks.
On Saturday, the head of Iraq’s Joint Operation Command said gaps in the Syrian border – which are often used to smuggle ISIS fighters and weapons to and from Iraq – will be closed within two months.
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