BAGHDAD, July 5 — Iraqi fighter jets conducted three airstrikes against Islamic State (IS) hideouts in northern Iraq on Sunday, hours after a counter-terrorism officer was killed in the same area, military sources said.
The Security Media Cell, affiliated with the Iraqi Joint Operations Command, said in a statement that the strikes took place at 10:45 a.m. local time (0745 GMT) near the Dibis district in the northern province of Kirkuk.
The latest strikes followed a deadly clash, which killed a Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) first lieutenant and an IS militant, it added. Major Abbas al-Obaidi from the Kirkuk Operations Command said that the clash also wounded two army soldiers.
Earlier on Sunday, CTS head Karim al-Tamimi identified the fallen officer as Hassan Khudhair Zughair in a statement mourning him.
According to the Security Media Cell, both the ground operations and the latest airstrikes were carried out based on intelligence from the Iraqi National Intelligence Service, in coordination with the CTS and the region’s Kurdistan Commando Forces.(Namibia Daily News/Xinhua)
