MOSUL
At least 15 Islamic State militants have been killed in a ground operation led by Iraqi forces in the capital of Iraq's Diyala Governorate, according to the governorate's police chief.
Major General Cemil el-Semri, the top commander in the Diyala police force, said on Monday that 15 IS-led armed insurgents had been killed and two IS trucks destroyed during clashes in Baqubah.
"The town of Baqubah was cleaned of IS militants by the latest operations," El- Semri said.
The conflict in northern Iraq under the advance of IS forces has displaced an estimated 1.2 million Iraqis and has mainly affected Shiite Muslims, Turkmen, Ezidis and Christians.
The group has captured swathes of land in Iraq and Syria and declared the establishment of a caliphate.
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