Iraqi airstrike kills five ISIS militants in Kirkuk’s Zagaitoun Valley

KIRKUK — An Iraqi F-16 fighter jet bombed an Islamic State hideout in southern Kirkuk on Tuesday night, killing five ISIS militants, officials reported. The airstrike targeted the Zagaitoun Valley in Hawija district, a rugged area known for being difficult to access by ground forces.

A source from the joint operations intelligence team in Kirkuk told 964media, “After days of monitoring a Daesh [ISIS] cell in the Zagaitoun Valley by a military intelligence team, an airstrike was carried out last night by an F-16 jet, resulting in the deaths of five ISIS militants, and all their weapons and supplies were destroyed.”

The Zagaitoun Valley, southeast of Hawija, is thick with vegetation and reeds, making it a haven for ISIS remnants. The area is locally referred to as the “Valley of Death” due to the difficulty in conducting ground operations there.

ISIS, also known by its Arabic acronym Daesh, declared a self-proclaimed caliphate in 2014 and seized large swaths of territory in Iraq, where it imposed strict rule and committed mass atrocities. By 2017, the group had lost most of its territory due to military operations led by the Iraqi government, with support from U.S. forces and allied militias. However, remnants of the group continue to carry out attacks, particularly in Kirkuk, Diyala, and Salah Al-Din provinces.

In a separate operation on Sunday, Iraqi forces arrested four ISIS members during a raid in Diyala province. The Iraqi military has intensified operations against ISIS cells in recent months. On Sept. 19, Iraq’s Joint Operations Command reported that three airstrikes in the Kirkuk region killed six suspected ISIS members, including a senior figure.