BAGHDAD - Iraqi and U.S. special forces killed 27 militants of the Islamic State and captured eight others in an operation in the Iraqi town of al-Hawija, southwest of Kirkuk, 250 kilometers (156 miles) north Baghdad.

Iraqi officials told EFE on Wednesday that a joint force of an Iraqi anti-terrorism group and a U.S. unit launched an operation which lasted for 45 minutes, targeting a house in al-Hawija, where soldiers descended from the aircraft to undertake this mission.

Officials described the operation as "accurate and rapid" and was the first to be carried out in the center of al-Hawija, which has been fully controlled by IS since June 2014.

The eight detained IS members included three foreigners.

The joint forces withdrew without sustaining any casualties.

Officials explained that this landing operation is the third taking place in areas located in the south and west of Kirkuk and is dependent upon accurate information, adding that IS fighters are in retreat and have lost communications in these areas.

The United States formed a military coalition in September 2014 to bomb IS positions in Iraq and Syria.