300 IS fighters, families hide in Iraq mountain

BAGHDAD, Mar 13(Xinhua): Up to 300 Islamic State (IS) militants and their family members are sheltering in a mountain in Iraq's northern province of Nineveh, a local newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The 300 are sheltering "in Qara-Chokh Mountain near the town of Makhmour, about 60 km southeast of Nineveh's provincial capital Mosul," the independent al-Mashriq newspaper quoted Ghayath al-Sorachi, a leading figure in the Kurdish party Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), as saying.

"Their presence in the mountain is a threat to the security situation in surrounding areas," al-Sorachi added.

He warned of security breaches from the mountain because no clear operation or airstrikes have been conducted yet by the security forces and U.S.-led coalition.

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