BAGHDAD (AP) — Four Iraqi troops were killed Wednesday and several wounded in an ambush by the extremist Islamic State group, Iraq's Interior Ministry said.

The attack came days after the U.S. military announced that troops from its coalition against IS in Iraq and Syria will withdraw from Iraqi territory next year but maintain a presence in Syria until 2026.

Despite IS losing its so-called caliphate where it controlled large swaths of land in Iraq and eastern Syria in 2019, it continues to launch attacks through its scattered cells, which this year have nearly doubled, and tries to recruit more people.

According to CENTCOM, IS claimed 153 attacks in the two countries in the first six months of 2024. It said it killed 37 IS and al-Qaeda-affiliated militants in eastern Syria in two strikes.

Ministry spokesperson Brig. Gen. Miqdad Miri said three soldiers were wounded while troops from the 42nd Brigade’s Intelligence Unit were on a reconnaissance mission in a rugged area near the northern city of Kirkuk.

“We have taken action to encircle and track down the terrorist cell,” Miri added.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani maintained the country's military and security agencies can keep the country safe in spite of the surge in attacks.

In northeastern Syria, the U.S.-led coalition along with U.S.-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces who control the territory hunt down IS cells and leaders.

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Martany reported from Irbil, Iraq.