Iraq launches military operation against Daesh remnants

Iraqi forces yesterday announced targeting Daesh-dwelled areas in the country’s northern governate of the Saladin.

“Iraqi F-16 fighter jets managed to destroy Daesh targets in the Saladin governorate, leaving a number dead,” the army’s Joint Operations Command disclosed in statement.

The statement added that the army had also killed three Daesh fighters in the Therthar Lake area, near Al-Anbar province.

The Iraqi army’s fifth division announced that it had found five Daesh hideouts in the country’s northwestern governate of Diyala, pointing out that the troops were able to destroy them.

The Iraqi operation comes as part of a military operation launched by the army three weeks ago, in an effort to chase the remaining remnants of Daesh. Local media recently reported that the Iraqi forces had targeted several Daesh reservoirs near the Qaraqosh mountain area, located in the Nineveh governorate.

Although nearly three years have passed since Iraq announced its defeat over Daesh, restoring most of the lands it seized in 2014, the terrorist organisation still maintains a number of hidden cells scattered throughout Iraq. It was reported to have resorted to its old tactic of launching lightning attacks targeting military areas, which prompted the Iraqi authorities to retaliate.