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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi counterterrorism forces said on Monday that three suspected Islamic State (ISIS) members were killed in a clash in Kirkuk province, a day after another operation in the province killed three militants.
'Our forces clashed with a group of terrorists in an area of Kirkuk governorate, the clashes resulted in the killing of three ISIS terrorist organization members,' Iraq's Counter-Terrorism Service (ICTS) said in a statement.
It stressed that campaigns against ISIS remnants in the country are ongoing 'to eradicate the remains of the terrorist gangs.'
In another operation in Kirkuk on Sunday, Kurdish and Iraqi security forces eliminated 'three terrorists,' including a senior commander, during a joint operation by the Sulaimani branch of the Kurdistan Region's Security Agency (Asayish) and ICTS.
In a statement on its official Facebook page, the Asayish announced that, in coordination with the ICTS, they 'eliminated the battalion commander of Sulaiman Beg' - an area located east of Salahaddin province and south of Kirkuk - 'along with two affiliated terrorists during a direct confrontation.'
Erbil and Baghdad have increased joint efforts to close security gaps between their territories, which have been exploited by extremist groups, including ISIS militants.
In late June, another counterterrorism operation in Kirkuk led to the killing of two ISIS operatives.
ISIS rose to power and seized swathes of Iraqi and Syrian land in a brazen offensive in 2014, declaring a so-called 'caliphate.'
While the group was declared territorially defeated in Iraq and Syria in 2017 and 2019 respectively, it still continues to pose serious security risks through hit-and-run attacks, bombings, and abductions, especially across the vast expanses of the Syrian desert and several Iraqi provinces situated in a security vacuum between the federal government and the Kurdistan Region.
Kirkuk province in particular has been a hotspot for ISIS activity, lying in a security vacuum exploited by militants to launch attacks on both civilians and members of the security forces.
Despite the threats, Iraqi authorities stress that attacks by ISIS have largely simmered down.
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