The Iraqi military, in cooperation with Kurdish security forces, announced on Monday, August 26, that they had discovered and destroyed two Islamic State (IS) hideouts in Kirkuk.

According to the statement fr om the Iraqi security service, the joint operation came as a result of coordinated intelligence efforts by the Directorate of Military Intelligence and the Sulaymaniyah Security Directorate.

The operation was carried out in the Leylan district of Kirkuk province. In addition to dismantling the hideouts, explosives and military equipment were seized.

 

Despite the official defeat of IS in 2017, the terrorist group remains a persistent threat, particularly in the disputed areas wh ere IS sleeper cells use security gaps.

The operation took place after the disclosure of a recent US Department of Defense report that warned that IS continued to pose a significant threat in Iraq and Syria. The report stressed the need for continued vigilance to prevent a resurgence of IS, drawing parallels with Afghanistan, where extremist groups have regained strength due to security lapses.

The latest operation follows a similar one on Saturday, when three IS hideouts were destroyed in an airstrike in the eastern province of Salahaddin. The hideouts, located in the Salahaddin Operational Command Area, were targeted by the Iraqi Air Force, resulting in the destruction of the facilities and the elimination of several IS militants.