US, Iraqi forces kill dozens of Islamic State fighters

BAGHDAD – The U.S. military says American and Iraqi forces killed more than 50 Islamic State militants, including several commanders, in northern Iraq last month.

U.S. Central Command said Sunday that an Oct. 30 operation in Salahuddin province killed five IS leaders and more than 30 other militants, and that an operation the following day in the Makhmour Mountains killed around 20 IS fighters. It says the leaders killed in the first raid were responsible for co-ordinating attacks across northern and western Iraq.

Iraq declared victory over IS last year, but the group has continued to carry out scattered attacks, particularly in the north. The extremists have lost virtually all the territory they once ruled in Syria and Iraq, but still control small, remote pockets in eastern Syria along the border.