BAGHDAD, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- A total of four Islamic State (IS) militants were killed on Wednesday in military operations in the Iraqi provinces of Kirkuk and Salahudin, a security source and a military statement said.

A joint force from the Iraqi federal police and paramilitary Hashd Shaabi force killed three IS militants in a raid on their hideout near the town of Hawijah in the western part of the northern province of Kirkuk, Hashim al-Obeidi from Hawijah police told Xinhua.

In the central province of Salahudin, an IS militant was killed in the city of Shirqat, some 280 km north of the capital Baghdad, during a security operation, an Iraqi Defense Ministry statement said.

Also in Salahudin Province, a security unit carried out a search operation in Himreen mountain range and the nearby Allas oilfield, and managed to destroy five tunnels and three hideouts for IS militants in addition to controlled detonations of some 20 roadside bombs, according to the statement.

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

However, IS remnants have since melted in urban areas or resorted to deserts and rugged areas, carrying out guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians despite military operations from time to time to hunt them down. Enditem