Iraqi F-16s strike ISIS targets in Kirkuk countryside after officer killed

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq's Security Media Cell said F-16 warplanes carried out a new air operation on Monday against ISIS hideouts and command posts in the Dibis district of Kirkuk province. The strikes were carried out at around 10:45 a.m. in the same area where Counter-Terrorism Service teams conducting field inspections came under an ambush a day earlier, the cell said. In Sunday's ambush, a Counter-Terrorism lieutenant officer was killed and an ISIS fighter died in the ensuing clash, according to the statement. The cell added that Monday's operation consisted of three separate airstrikes and was planned using intelligence from the Iraqi National Intelligence Service, in coordination with the Joint Operations Command's Targeting Cell. Commando forces and Counter-Terrorism units provided ground support during the strikes, the cell said. It reported that the targets were destroyed and that the group's hideouts in the area were fully eliminated.