Iraqi airstrike destroys ISIS communications center in western Anbar
Anbar (IraqiNews.com) Airstrikes by Iraqi fighter jets destroyed Sunday an Islamic State communication facility in western Anbar, according to an Iraqi army officer.
Brig. Gen. Nawman al-Zawbai, commander of the army’s 7th division, was quoted by Aljournal News website saying Iraqi Sukhoi fighters carried out an offensive on Um al-Wiz, Okashat and al-Obeidi, all regions in the western, IS-held towns of Rawa and al-Qaem, killing four members of the extremist group and destroying a communication center run by the extremist group.
The strikes also eliminated a booby-trapping and IEDs workshop, according to Zawbai.
Islamic State held Anbar’s western regions, close to the borders with Syria, since it emerged to proclaim a self-styled “Islamic Caliphate” in 2014. Those areas have sustained occasional bombardments by Iraqi and U.S.-led coalition fighter jets.
There has not been an officially-declared military campaign to free those regions, but the province’s military command launched a brief assault early January that managed to recapture some western villages before stopping again.
Local officials believe Islamic State is holding thousands in those regions to use them as human shields against any future security offensive.
The province’s borders with Syria have recently witnessed exchanges of attacks between IS and border guards.