Iraqi Warplanes Kill 23 Daesh Terrorists in Kirkuk

According to the sources, 23 Daesh militants were killed on Monday after Iraqi warplanes bombed their hideout in Kirkuk's Wadi al-Shay area following reconnaissance operations by the Arab country’s military.

Earlier in the day, an attack on the district of Molla Abdollah in southern Kirkuk was repelled by Iraqi troops.

During the recent clashes in Kirkuk, one Iraqi serviceman was killed and four others injured, the sources added.

Daesh has intensified its attacks in Iraq amid Baghdad’s call on the US to pull out its forces from the Arab country.

In a vote on January 5, the Iraqi parliament called for an end to the presence of all foreign troops, including Americans.

The vote came two days after the US military - acting on US President Donald Trump’s order - launched a fatal drone strike on senior Iranian anti-terror commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani upon his arrival in the Iraqi capital at the invitation of the Baghdad government.

The attack also claimed the lives of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the second-in-command of Iraq’s PMU or Hashd al-Sha’abi, along with eight other Iranian and Iraqi people.

Washington has threatened sanctions should US troops be expelled instead of heeding the Iraqi parliament’s call to end the occupation of the country.

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