Baghdad, Jun 14 (IANS): A total of 22 Islamic State (IS) terrorists were killed on Tuesday in airstrikes on IS desert stronghold and clashes with Iraqi security forces in central Iraq.

The Iraqi warplanes carried out airstrikes on the main IS desert redoubt in Mteibijah area, which is on the provincial border between Iraq's eastern province of Diyala and the northern central province of Salahudin, Xinhua quoted Udai al-Khadran, the mayor of al-Khalis town as saying.

The airstrikes left some 20 IS terrorists killed and five of their vehicles destroyed, including one booby-trapped, al-Khadran said.

In Salahudin province, the security forces repelled two attacks by IS terrorists from two directions around the town of Seniyah, just west of the oil refinery town of Baiji, some 200 km north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

After hours of sporadic heavy clashes, the attackers were forced to withdraw, leaving two of their fighters killed. Three security members were also killed in the attacks, the source said.