"The forces, composed of the 37th Infantry Brigade, the 9th Division, the Diyala Commando Brigade with the support of the troops’ aviation, began at dawn today [Tuesday] to fulfill its duty … in the Khanaqin area to track down the remnants of IS terrorists," the country’s Security Media Cell said in a statement, a copy of which was seen by the news agency.

According to the second announcement by the official security media, as cited by the broadcaster, Iraq’s Joint Operations Command started at 5 a.m. local time on Tuesday (02:00 GMT) searching areas in the south of Kirkuk in a bid to pursue militants.

At the end of last week, the country’s military said that it had destroyed a number of IS hideouts in several Iraqi provinces.

Despite the Iraqi authorities announcing the country's complete liberation from IS militants after over three years of fighting in 2017, pockets of terrorists continue to engage in sabotage and armed attacks in the liberated regions. Their efforts are being resisted by both the government forces and militias. 

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