Speaking with NRT on Monday, March 25, Yawar said that the Ministry of Peshmerga possesses intelligence that there are active IS sleeper cells on Qarachogh and Hamrin Mountains and in Diyala, Kirkuk, Saladin, and Nineveh provinces.

Other cells operate in areas along the border with Syria.

Yawar went on to add that US-led Coalition warplanes regularly launch airstrikes against the targets of the terrorists in those areas, adding that “those positions are monitored and bombarded by Coalition forces.”

During the interview, the Peshmerga official said that up to 1,726 Peshmerga had been killed and 10,720 others had been wounded in the fight against IS since 2014. As many as 42 members of the Peshmerga are listed as missing, he added.

On Saturday, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced victory over IS territorial caliphate in a ceremony near Baghouz, the militant group’s last slice of territory in eastern Syria.

Reporter’s code: 40101