BAGHDAD, July 13 (Xinhua) -- A total of nine Islamic State (IS) militants were killed on Saturday in an airstrike by U.S.-led coalition in Iraq's northern province of Nineveh, the Iraqi military said.
Acting on intelligence reports provided by Nineveh's Operations Command, the coalition aircraft attacked an IS position at a valley in the western part of the province, the media office of the Joint Operations Command said in a brief statement.
A security source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that the attacked IS position, which was completely destroyed, was used by the extremist militants as a hideout to prepare for attacks against military and civilian targets.
The security situation in Iraq was dramatically improved after Iraqi security forces fully defeated the extremist IS militants across the country late in 2017.
IS remnants, however, have since melted in urban areas or resorted to deserts and rugged areas as safe havens, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians.
