At least six Islamic State (IS) militants were killed on Sunday in an airstrike in Iraq's central province of Salahudin. The incident took place early in the morning when the Iraqi aircraft bombarded an IS hideout in Farhatiyah area near Balad, some 80 km north of the Iraqi capital, destroying the hideout and killing six IS militants inside, Sheikh Safaa al-Timimi, a leader of a brigade in Saraya al-Salam militia, told Xinhua news agency.

The airstrike was based on intelligence reports by Saraya al-Salam, or Peace Companies, affiliated with the prominent Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, Timimi said.