5 IS militants killed in security operation in northern Iraq

Five Islamic State (IS) militants were killed by Iraqi security forces near the town of Sinjar in the northern province of Nineveh, the Iraqi military said, Trend reports citing Xinhua.

Acting on intelligence reports from Nineveh's Operations Command, the Iraqi army and provincial police commandos carried out an operation in the eastern part of Sinjar mountain range and killed five IS militants, the media office of the Joint Operations Command said in a brief statement.

The security situation in Iraq was dramatically improved after Iraqi security forces fully defeated the extremist IS militants across the country late in 2017.

IS remnants, however, have since melted in urban areas or resorted to deserts and rugged areas as safe havens, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians.