Iraqi PMF seizes IS drone, destroys hideouts in eastern Iraq.

Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), on Friday, seized a drone belonging to the Islamic State (Daesh) and destroyed hideouts of the extremist terrorists in the eastern province of Diyala, a local security official said.

Acting on an intelligence tip-off, a force from the Hashed al-Sha’abi’s 24th brigade carried out a search operation to reach an island in Himreen Lake in the northeast of Diyala’s provincial capital Baquba, some 65 km northeast of Baghdad, Ali al-Tamimi, head of the security committee of al-Muqdadiya town hall, said.

The PMF fighters found a drone belonging to IS and took it to a secure site for inspection, al-Tamimi said, adding that the IS militants had used drones during the battles against Iraq’s security forces.

During the operation, the Hashed al-Sha’abi forces discovered and destroyed three Daesh hideouts used for storing arms and supplies by the extremist terrorists, al-Tamimi said.

Al-Tamimi explained that the attacked island was used by IS militants as a launching pad as the militants used to bring weapons and equipment from the nearby Himreen mountain range to store them in the lake in order to launch attacks on the town of Sadiya and nearby villages and towns.

The security situation in Iraq was dramatically improved after Iraqi security forces fully defeated the extremist IS militants across the country late in 2017.