BAGHDAD, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- A total of 10 Islamic State (IS) militants were killed on Thursday in an operation by the Iraqi security forces in the central province of Salahudin.

Acting upon intelligence reports, a joint force from the Iraqi army, police and paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units conducted an anti-IS operation in the village of Smeilat near the town of al-Shirqat, some 280 km north of Iraq's capital Baghdad, said a statement by the media office of the Joint Operations Command.

During the operation, the Iraqi troops killed 10 IS militants, four wearing explosive belts, and confiscated their weapons, the statement said.

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

IS remnants, however, have since melted in urban areas or resorted to deserts and rugged areas as safe havens, carrying out frequent hit-and-run attacks against security forces and civilians.