BAGHDAD

Iraqi security forces killed three Daesh/ISIS terrorists in a raid in northern Iraq on Saturday, according to a local police officer.

Security forces raided a Daesh/ISIS hideout in Samarra, north of Saladin province, but the terrorists refused to surrender and opened fire, prompting Iraqi forces to fire back, police Captain Samir al-Shahabi said.

Saturday’s raid came one day after 11 Iraqi soldiers were killed in a Daesh/ISIS attack on a military post in the eastern Diyala province.

In 2017, Iraq declared victory over Daesh/ISIS by reclaiming all territories the terrorist group controlled since the summer of 2014 which was estimated to be about a third of the country’s territory.

The group, however, still maintains sleeper cells in large areas in Iraq and occasionally launches sporadic attacks.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar