Iraq warplane strikes ISIS hideout in disputed Kirkuk, military says

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – An Iraqi warplane on Sunday struck an ISIS hideout south of the disputed Kirkuk province, according to a military statement.

According to the military communications center known as Security Media Cell, an Iraqi F-16 aircraft bombed Wadi Zghitoun, a rugged valley close to 50 kilometers southwest of the province's Kirkuk city.

The target was an "important hideout for ISIS terrorist gangs in Wadi Zghitoun." The military did not provide additional details but indicated it would announce the results of the strike later.

The Iraqi airforce conducted a similar operation in rural Nineveh province, destroying said a cave it said was an "important" and "strategic" site to ISIS.

لحظات نسف مخبأ للخلايا النائمة بضربة جوية في #كركوك pic.twitter.com/XPxZvdl0C1

— Kurdistan24 عربية (@arabick24) February 13, 2022

In 2017, Iraq declared victory over ISIS, but the terrorist organization continues to launch sporadic attacks from remote areas on security patrols and rural communities. The group is most active in areas disputed between the Iraqi and Kurdistan Region governments.

Related Article: Peshmerga, Iraqi forces complete 'successful' anti-ISIS operation in disputed Kirkuk

This is due to lapses in security in tracts of land separating Kurdish and Iraqi security forces. Recently, however, the Peshmerga and the Iraqi military conducted a joint operation in southern Kirkuk province to clear it from ISIS remnants.