Iraqi airstrike kills 45 Daesh militants inside Syria

Dozens of Daesh militants were killed in an Iraqi airstrike inside neighboring Syria, the Iraqi Defense Ministry said Saturday.

The attack targeted a meeting of Daesh leaders in Hajin town in the eastern Deir Ez Zour province near Iraqi border, the ministry said in a statement.

According to the statement, at least 45 Daesh militants were killed in the airstrike, including the mail carrier of the group's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the statement said.

Earlier in the day, an Iraqi military commander said Iraqi forces have launched two operations to hunt down militants in western Iraq's desert area near border with Syria.

Last December, officials in Baghdad declared that Daesh's military presence had been all but destroyed. It appears, however, that the notorious terrorist group still maintains an active presence in parts of northern and western Iraq.