On Saturday, Iraq announced the launch of 7 air strikes against ISIS targets in Salah al-Din Governorate, and the arrest of 6 militants in Nineveh, in the north of the country.

The Security Media Cell (affiliated with the Ministry of Defense) said in a statement that Iraqi F-16 fighters launched 7 air strikes targeting 5 ISIS hideouts in the Mutaibija area, east of Salah al-Din.

The statement added, "The air strikes were preceded by a force from the Counter-Terrorism Service, carrying out a duty (operation) in the same area."

He explained that the operation is continuing in the area, without details of the raids and their results.

In a separate statement, the cell said, "A force from the National Security Agency (linked to the Prime Minister) managed to arrest 6 terrorists in Nineveh Governorate."

The statement stated, "The statements of the accused were duly recorded and referred to the competent legal authorities to take the necessary measures against them."

The statement did not reveal who they belong to, but the Iraqi military statements usually use the term "terrorists" to refer to ISIS militants.

These developments come after the increasing frequency of ISIS attacks on Iraqi forces in recent weeks, especially in the border area separating the federal authorities and the Kurdistan region in the north of the country.

And in late 2017, Baghdad announced victory over ISIS by restoring the lands it had controlled, since the summer of 2014, about a third of the area of Iraq, but the organization still maintains sleeper cells in large areas and launches bloody attacks from time to time.

Anadolu Agency