BAGHDAD, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- A commando force of the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) conducted an operation against militants of the extremist Islamic State (IS) group in the southern part of the northern province of Nineveh, leaving six IS militants killed, the CTS said Monday.
The CTS commandos, backed by U.S.-led international coalition aircraft, attacked a cave used by IS militants in Makhmour Mountain in the south of Nineveh's provincial city of Mosul, some 400 km north of Baghdad, The CTS said in a statement.
The troops clashed with the extremist militants in the cave during the operation, killing three IS militants, while the others were killed by coalition airstrikes as they tried to escape from the scene, the statement said.
One of the CTS force was wounded during the operation, it added.
The mountain and vast rural areas north of Iraq's capital Baghdad have witnessed intense activities by IS militants during the past months, despite repeated military operations to hunt them down.
The security situation in Iraq has been improving since the Iraqi security forces fully defeated the IS militants across the country late in 2017.
However, IS remnants have since melted in urban areas or deserts and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians. Enditem