The Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service carried out an airdrop of troops and engaged in clashes with IS militants in a desert area north of the town of al-Rutba, some 400 km west of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, according to a statement from the Security Media Cell, a media outlet affiliated with the Iraqi Joint Operations Command.

The troops killed nine IS militants, including seven suicide bombers, and destroyed their weapons, ammunition, and other logistical equipment, the statement said, Xinhua news agency reported.

On Tuesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani said that security forces had killed the commander of the IS group for Iraq and eight other senior leaders in an operation in a mountainous area of northern Iraq.

The security situation in Iraq has improved since the defeat of the IS in 2017. However, IS remnants have sneaked into urban centres, deserts, and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians.