TIKRIT, Iraq, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- At least six Islamic State (IS) militants were killed on Saturday in a search operation at a desert area in Iraq's northern central province of Salahudin, a provincial police source told Xinhua.
The commandos of the Rapid Response forces, affiliated with the provincial police, killed the six militants during a raid on IS hideouts in the desert area of al-Jazira in the western part of Salahudin province, the source said on condition of anonymity.
The troops found a lot of weapons, explosives and communication equipment, the source said.
Earlier, Iraqi security forces and allied paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units have freed the provincial capital Tikrit, about 170 km north of Baghdad, and other key cities and towns in the predominately Sunni Arab province of Salahudin.
After their defeat, the IS militants resorted to the sprawling rugged area that extends from the western part of Salahudin province to the desert in the neighboring Anbar province in western Iraq.
