Salahuddin (IraqiNews.com) Islamic State militants have blown up two houses of security personnel in Salahuddin after booby-trapping them, an Iraqi military source said on Sunday.

“A group of IS members infiltrated into Kan’ous village in Shirqat town, 90 KM south of Mosul, and booby-trapped two houses of two security personnel before blowing them up,” Col. Abdel Salam al-Jabouri, from the Iraqi army, told Anadolu agency.

“According to local residents, IS members confiscated the food supply and some telecommunications devices at the houses before hiding at the forests adjacent to Tigris River, near the village,” he added.

Iraqi joint troops, backed by army jets, have launched several campaigns to comb the regions in south of Mosul and target the militant group’s hideouts.

On July 10, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory over Islamic State militants who had held the second largest Iraqi city since 2014. More than 25,000 militants were killed throughout the campaign.

Violence in the country has surged further with the emergence of Islamic State Sunni extremist militants who proclaimed an “Islamic Caliphate” in Iraq and Syria in 2014.

The war against IS has displaced nearly five million people, with tens of thousands of civilians and militants killed since the launch of the offensives to recapture occupied cities.





