Iraqi Air Force F-16s during a training sortie on July 18, 2019. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Chris Drzazgowski)
On May 16, a series of Iraqi airstrikes hit a cell of ISIS terrorists and a number of the group’s hideouts in Wadi al-Chai, a valley in the northern province of Kirkuk.
In a statement, the Iraqi Security Media Cell said that the airstrikes were carried out by the Iraqi Air Force (IQAF) based on information provided by the Military Intelligence Directorate, adding that six terrorists were killed and several hideouts were destroyed.
The airstrikes were conducted by F-16IQ fighter jets, likely armed with 227-kg GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bombs. Footage of the pinpoint strikes were released by the IQAF.
The airstrikes were the most recent in a series of operations by the IQAF and local intelligence services that have claimed the lives of dozens of ISIS terrorists since the start of the year.
A wave of airstrikes targeted a cell of ISIS that was hiding in Wadi al-Chai in Kirkuk on May 4. Three terrorists, including ISIS’s judge in the province, were killed in the airstrikes. Later on May 7, airstrikes hit a hideout of the terrorist group in the countryside of the eastern province of Diyala.
Iraq announced the defeat of ISIS in 2017. However, the terrorist group’s cells are still waging an insurgency in different parts of the country. The group’s influence is especially strong in the western, northern and eastern regions.
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