An Iraqi paramilitary force successfully repelled an attempt by Islamic State terrorists to attack a military checkpoint in Salahuddin province, Afghan security source said.
According to the source, members of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) destroyed a pickup truck driven by Islamic State terrorists near a military checkpoint in Baiji city in Salahuddin.
The ISIS terrorists were seeking to storm the checkpoint, the source said, adding that the pickup truck was completely destroyed in the operation.
Iraq declared the collapse of Islamic State’s territorial influence in November 2017 with the recapture of Rawa, a city on Anbar’s western borders with Syria, which was the group’s last bastion in Iraq.
ISIS declared a self-styled “caliphate” in a third of Iraq and neighboring Syria in 2014.
A government offensive, supported by a U.S.-led international coalition and paramilitary forces, was launched in 2016 to retake ISIS-held regions, managing to retake nearly all hideouts most notably the city of Mosul, the group’s previously proclaimed capital.
However, isolated cells believed to be linked to the Islamic State group remain active in some parts of the country. In recent weeks, suspected Islamic State terrorists have carried out several attacks targeting security forces in Iraq.
