BAGHDAD, April 9 (Xinhua) -- The government-backed Hashd Shaabi fighters on Monday killed five Islamic State (IS) militants in southwestern part of the oil-rich province of Kirkuk, a Hashd Shaabi statement said.

Acting on intelligence reports, the 16th brigade of the Hsahd Shaabi raided al-Hmeirah village near the town of al-Rashad, some 35 km southwest of the provincial capital Kirkuk, the statement quoted the leader of the brigade as saying.

The Hashd Shaabi force clashed with the extremist militants, killed five of them and wounded a sixth, while some IS militants fled the scene and the paramilitary fighters are chasing them, according to the statement.

During the past few months, dozens of IS militants fled their former urban strongholds in Mosul, Salahudin province and Hawijah area in the west of Kirkuk after the Iraqi forces cleared these areas during major anti-IS offensives.

On Dec. 9, 2017, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi officially declared full liberation of Iraq from IS militants after Iraqi forces recaptured all the areas once seized by the extremist group.

However, small groups and individuals of IS militants regrouped in the rugged areas and are carrying out attacks against the security forces and civilians despite operations from time to time to hunt them down.