Iraqi Forces Kill over 200 ISIL Militants in Mop-up Operations
KABUL: (Middle East Press) Iraqi government forces backed by allied fighters from Popular Mobilization units have carried out separate operations against Takfiri ISIL militants across Iraq, killing 200 extremists from the group.
The commander of the al-Jazeera and al-Baadia Operations, Major General Ali Ibrahim Daboun, told Arabic-language al-Sumaria satellite television network on Tuesday that Iraqi troopers have managed to kill at least 158 ISIL militants, destroy 27 vehicles, clear 17 booby-trapped houses, defuse 15 improvised explosive devices and confiscated 27 explosive jackets during a series of offensives in the troubled western province of Anbar over the past few days.
Iraqi security personnel also killed 57 ISIL Takfiris, destroyed two tanker bombs as well as a breakdown truck, and seized two vehicles rigged with explosives as they mounted an operation in the city of Husaibah al-Sharqiyah, located more than 110 kilometers (68 miles) west of the capital, Baghdad, on Tuesday.
Iraqi volunteer fighters from Popular Mobilization units guard a position on the northern outskirts of Fallujah, west of the capital, Baghdad, as they prepare to attack ISIL positions in the city, July 9, 2015. (© AFP)
Moreover, Iraqi fighter jets carried out precision strikes against terrorist hideouts in the town of al-Karma, located 48 kilometers (30 miles) west of the capital, killing scores of ISIL terrorists.
A security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, also said pro-government volunteer forces have regained complete control of al-Tash region, located about 120 kilometers (74 miles) west of Baghdad, and killed 27 ISIL militants following fierce exchanges of gunfire with the Takfiris.
Additionally, Popular Mobilization forces have taken back al-Dawajen, Albu Hamdan, and Albu Issa districts north of the strategic western city of Fallujah, located roughly 69 kilometers (43 miles) west of Baghdad, from ISIL militants.
Iraqi fighters from Popular Mobilization units gather on the northern outskirts of Fallujah, west of the capital, Baghdad, as they prepare to attack ISIL positions in the city, July 7, 2015. (© AFP)
ISIL started its campaign of terror in Iraq in early June 2014. The heavily armed militants took control of Mosul before sweeping through parts of the country’s heartland.
Iraqi soldiers, police units, Kurdish forces, and Shia and Sunni volunteers are engaged in battles with the terrorists to drive them out of the areas they have under control.
