BAGHDAD (Dispatches) – Iraqi security forces on Tuesday killed four terrorists in an operation in Iraq’s northern province of Kirkuk, a security official said.
The army forces killed the militants near the town of Altun Kupri, some 40km north of the namesake provincial capital Kirkuk, said Ali al-Fraiji, commander of Kirkuk Operations Command, in a statement.
The operation came two days after a deadly Daesh attack on a federal police outpost south of the city of Kirkuk, about 250km north of Baghdad, killing 13 security members and wounding six others.
Over the past few months, Daesh terrorists have intensified attacks on Iraqi security forces in the province previously controlled by the militants, leaving dozens of casualties.
The security situation in Iraq has been improving since the terrorists were defeated in 2017.
In another incident, a roadside bomb attack has targeted a convoy carrying logistical equipment belonging to the U.S. military in Iraq’s central Babil Province, as more voices are being raised against the prolonged presence of American forces on Iraqi soil.
The incident took place near the Kalsu bridge on Monday, reports said, without elaborating.
A security source told Iraq’s Shafaq News Agency that the convoy was carrying logistical support equipment for the U.S.-led coalition.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the blast, which was the latest in a series of attacks targeting U.S. troops in Iraq in recent months amid rising anti-U.S. sentiment there.
However, an Iraqi group known as Ashab al-Kahf released a video of the incident on social media.
The group has in the past repeatedly claimed attacks against convoys of U.S. occupation forces.
On Saturday, Ashab al-Kahf announced the beginning of a new round of armed attacks against U.S. interests dubbed ‘Karbala operation.’
American occupation forces are required to leave Iraq under a resolution passed by the Arab country’s parliament on January 5, 2020.
On Monday, an Iraqi lawmaker from the Fatah (Conquest) Alliance blamed the United States for the destruction of the Arab country.
Ali al-Fatlawi also called on all political factions to support the U.S. withdrawal and stress the implementation of the parliamentary resolution to that effect.
He pointed to the destructive activities of Daesh, adding that the terror group’s remnants keep making attempts to undermine the security of Iraq from time to time.