"The 16th militia brigade started a large-scale military operation this morning to find the remaining Daesh militants, their shelters and weapons stores," the militia said.
READ MORE: Bombing Kills at Least 3 in Iraqi Kirkuk — Reports
The operation is conducted near the town of Rashad in the southwestern part of the province.
In February, the governor of Kirkuk province, Rakan Jabouri, told Sputnik that Daesh militants were still posing a threat in the north of Iraq and had so-called "sleeper cells" in the province, attacking people at night and kidnapping them.
On the day of the Iraqi parliamentary elections on May 12, Daesh militants attacked a checkpoint in Kirkuk, killing six law enforcement officers.
*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist group banned in Russia