The Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) announced on Friday that it had killed a number of ISIS militants in Altun Kobri (Bardi) district of Kirkuk Governorate.

The CTS said that it carried out a night airdrop on terrorist hideouts in the village of Katka, and that violent clashes took place with ISIS militants. The CTS did not release the exact number of militants killed, but a Rudaw Media Network correspondent reported that five ISIS militants were killed.

Altun Kobri district is a Kurdish district within the Kurdish regions outside the Kurdistan Region Administration (disputed), located north of Kirkuk Governorate, south of Erbil Governorate, the capital of the Kurdistan Region.

In 2017, the Iraqi army declared victory over ISIS and the restoration of all Iraqi lands from its grip. However, the organization still maintains secret cells targeting the Iraqi and Kurdish security forces and villages and districts in the Iraqi provinces from time to time.

The Iraqi security forces continue their military operations against ISIS and its militants in Iraq, and they announce on an almost daily basis the killing of ISIS militants during combing operations in separate areas throughout Iraq.

This latest operation is a sign that the Iraqi security forces are committed to rooting out ISIS and its remnants from Iraq.