Iraqi forces target ISIS sites using CH-5 drone for first time
Shafaq News- Kirkuk
Security forces carried out an airstrike using a CH-5 drone operated by Iraqi Army Aviation for the first time on suspected ISIS positions south of Iraq’s Kirkuk province on Thursday, a security source told Shafaq News.
The strike, based on intelligence from the Military Intelligence Directorate, hit sites in Al-Shay Valley (Wadi Al-Shay) area. Iraq’s Joint Operations Command later confirmed that the operation killed an operative and completely destroyed the targeted hideout.
Although ISIS lost territorial control in Iraq in 2017, it continues operating as an insurgent network across desert and rural regions, including Diyala, Kirkuk, Saladin, and Al-Anbar. In mid-April, Iraq’s Interior Ministry reported that security forces had dismantled four ISIS-linked cells during operations conducted in 2026, warning that the group has increasingly relied on social media and online gaming platforms to recruit young people.
Read more: On ISIS defeat anniversary, Iraq confronts a reawakening insurgency
