Iraqi troops destroy holdout IS media centre in north

Iraq's elite counter-terrorism force targeted Islamic State group holdouts Thursday in the northern region of Hamreen, including a media centre, more than a year after the country declared IS vanquished.

Although they no longer hold territory, IS sleeper cells were believed to be hiding out in vast deserts and scraggy mountains like Hamreen, from where they have conducted deadly hit-and-run attacks against government posts.

Iraqi military spokesman General Yahya Rasool said Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi had ordered the Counter-Terrorism Service "to conduct operations targeting Daesh (IS) remnants and their caves in the Hamreen Mountains."