At least 15 "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL) militants, including suicide bombers, were killed in a security operation in Salaheddine province on Thursday (January 5th), the Iraqi Ministry of Defence said.
Joint Iraqi forces kicked off a large-scale operation in Makhul in the district of Baiji where they found "several ISIL rest houses", the ministry said in a statement.
"Iraqi forces clashed with terrorists, killing 15 of them including suicide bombers, and destroying 10 vehicles, some of which were packed with explosives," the statement added.
"The operation was very successful and resulted in the opening of the Baghdad-Mosul highway for traffic once again," it said.
