U.S.-led airstrike kills 3 ISIL militants in northern Iraq
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A member of Iraqi security forces inspects the site of a bomb attack in Kirkuk, Iraq, May 31, 2019. /VCG Photo

A member of Iraqi security forces inspects the site of a bomb attack in Kirkuk, Iraq, May 31, 2019. /VCG Photo

A U.S.-led coalition airstrike killed three ISIL militants in the Iraqi northern province of Kirkuk on Sunday, while a civilian was killed and two others wounded in attacks in the eastern province of Diyala. 

The airstrike was conducted on an ISIL hideout in the area of Wadi Zghaytoun in the south of Kirkuk, some 250 kilometers north of the capital Baghdad, according to a statement released by the media office of the Joint Operations Command. 

The statement added that the airstrike resulted in the destruction of the hideout. 

Separately in Diyala Province, a civilian was killed when ISIL militants opened fire on the residents of the village of Mkheisa, about 95 kilometers northeast of Baghdad, said Alaa al-Saadi from the provincial police. 

Also in the province, two civilians were wounded in a roadside bomb explosion on the edges of the city of Jalawla, al-Saadi said, adding the roadside bomb was apparently planted also by ISIL militants. 

Despite repeated military operations in Diyala, some ISIL militants are still hiding in some rugged areas near the border with Iran, and in the sprawling areas extending from the western part of the province to the Himreen mountain range in the northern part of the province. 

The security situation in Iraq was dramatically improved after Iraqi security forces fully defeated the extremist ISIL militants across the country late in 2017.

ISIL remnants, however, have since melted in urban areas or resorted to deserts and rugged areas as safe havens, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency