Eight IS militants killed in Iraqi airstrike near Samarra

Eight members of the Islamic State extremist group were killed on Tuesday morning in an airstrike by Iraqi air force near the city of Samarra, the Iraqi Joint Forces Operations Command said.

A statement from the Command said Iraqi air force planes struck a position in Wadi Tharthar in western Salah Al-Din province, near Samarra.

The statement said Iraqi forces found weapons and logistical supplies at the targeted position.

IS lost all the territory it formerly held in Iraq in 2017 but cells from the extremist group frequently try to carry out attacks.

Iraqi forces regularly strike alleged IS positions in the north and west of the country.

Also on Tuesday morning, Iraqi counterterrorism forces and Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighters launched a joint operation against IS elements in the Qarah Dagh mountains in northern Iraq.

Local Iraqi media reported that the operation was proceeding with support from the Iraqi air force and aimed at searching and clearing the mountain range of IS militants.

The reports said that IS militants had been killed and injured in clashes with Iraqi counterterrorism and Peshmerga forces.

In a related development on Tuesday, Iraqi Army Chief of Staff General Abdul Amir Yarallah met with the head of NATO’s mission to Iraq to discuss ways training, advice and capacity building for Iraqi forces.

Since 2020, a NATO support mission comprised of 300 members has been operating in Iraq, focused on training and equipping Iraqi forces in the fight against IS.