Iraqi airstrike targets ISIS hideout in Salah al-Din, eliminates militants

SALAH AL-DIN — The Iraqi Joint Operations Command’s Security Media Cell announced the successful execution of an airstrike on a “militant hideout” in the Palkana Mountains, east of Salah Al-Din governorate.

“In a distinctive qualitative operation, based on precise intelligence from the Iraqi National Intelligence Service and coordinated under the planning and supervision of the Targeting Cell, F-16 aircraft carried out a successful airstrike,” the Cell said in a statement. The strike targeted a facility in the Palkana mountain range, which has been crucial in ongoing counterterrorism efforts.

The strike “completely destroyed the hideout and eliminated all terrorist elements inside,” the statement said, marking a significant achievement in ongoing efforts to ensure regional security.

Mohammed Abdullah, a spokesperson for the Tuz Khurmatu General Police, told 964media that the airstrikes precisely targeted ISIS strongholds between the villages of Shora and Palkana in Tuz Khurmatu district. He confirmed that several militants were killed, and their equipment and supplies were destroyed.

The region, located between the security jurisdictions of the Iraqi Army and Peshmerga forces, frequently hosts joint military and security efforts aimed at dismantling ISIS encampments that periodically attempt to establish footholds.

The Iraqi Air Force regularly conducts airstrikes on areas identified as ISIS hideouts, which often serve as buffer zones between Iraqi and Peshmerga forces. On Sept. 7, Iraqi F-16 jets launched targeted strikes in the Hamrin Mountains, killing three ISIS militants. These operations are part of broader efforts to maintain security and suppress militant activities in critical regions.

Despite ISIS’s territorial defeat in Iraq in 2017, remnants of the group continue to pose a threat. Security forces conduct daily operations to target remaining cells. The Islamic State declared a caliphate in 2014 but lost its last Syrian stronghold in 2019.

Ongoing attacks in Salah Al-Din and other regions highlight the persistent danger. On May 14, an attack claimed the lives of an army officer and four soldiers. A vehicle bombing near Suleiman Beg a week later killed one person and injured four others. The following day, five family members were killed in an attack on the Baiji-Haditha Road in Anbar governorate, attributed to newly planted improvised explosive devices.

A United Nations report from January estimated that between 3,000 and 5,000 ISIS fighters remain active in Iraq and Syria, posing a continued security challenge. On July 16, U.S. Central Command warned that ISIS is working to “reconstitute” in Iraq and Syria, with the number of attacks nearly doubling compared to the previous year.