Baghdad, April 22 : Four militants of the Islamic State (IS) group were killed on Thursday in an Iraqi airstrike in a rugged area in Salahudin Province north of the capital Baghdad, the Iraqi government said. Acting on intelligence reports, the Iraqi armed forces launched an airstrike on abandoned houses in the al-Eith area in the eastern part of the province and killed the four IS militants, Xinhua news agency reported, citing a statement by the Federal Intelligence and Investigations Agency of the Interior Ministry. Over the past few months, Iraqi security forces have mounted deadly attacks against IS militants to crack down on their intensified activities. The security situation in Iraq has been improving since the Iraqi forces defeated the IS in 2017. However, the IS remnants have since melted into urban centers, deserts, and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians. /IANS