12 Islamic State militants killed in Iraq

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12 ISIS militants were killed on Wednesday in a raid and an airstrike in Salahudin and Diyala provinces of Iraq, the security forces confirmed. 

The army raided an IS hideout northwest of Salahudin's capital Tikrit, some 170 km north of Baghdad, Abdul Muhsin Hatem, commander of Salahudin operations, said in a statement. 

During the raid, the house which appeared to be booby-trapped was detonated, killing an army officer, and after searching the destroyed house, the troops discovered a bunker where 10 IS militants were hiding, sparking a heavy clash that resulted in the killing of all the militants, the statement said.

In Diyala, the Iraqi aircraft conducted an airstrike, based on intelligence reports, on an IS position in a rugged area located near the provincial border with neighbouring Salahudin province, destroying the position and killing two IS militants inside, Sadiq al-Husseini, head of the security committee of Diyala's provincial council, told Xinhua.

The Iraqi forces are continuing security operations in different areas in central Iraq to track the extremist IS militants and destroy their locations.

The security situation in Iraq was improved after Iraqi security forces fully defeated the extremist IS militants across the country late in 2017.