5 IS militants killed in Iraq airstrike

Baghdad, April 12 (IANS) Five Islamic State (IS) terrorists were killed in an airstrike in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, the military said.

A statement by the media office of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command (JOC) said the airstrike on Sunday killed the five terrorists and also destroyed four hideouts near Himreen lake in the north of the provincial capital Baquba, some 65 km fron Baghdad, Xinhua news agency reported

The airstrike came as the Iraqi security forces launched a search campaign on Sunday morning to hunt down IS militants in the Himreen mountain range and the nearby lake, the statement said.

The security situation in Iraq has been improving since security forces fully defeated the IS militants across the country late in 2017.

However, IS remnants have been carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians.