6 ISIS Bad Guys smoked in airstrike near Tal Afar
Tal Afar (IraqiNews.com) Around six Islamic State militants were killed as Iraqi army targeted IS locations in Tal Afar town, west of Mosul, which is still held by the militant group.
In a statement on Thursday, the Defense Ministry’s War Media Cell said Iraqi army jets “launched airstrikes targeting IS locations in Tal Afar.”
“Based on information from the Nineveh Operations Command, Iraqi jets launched airstrikes, destroying weapon stash and burning huge amounts of arms and explosives that were inside it in the military district in the town,” the statement added.
“Around six militants were killed in al-Ayadiya district, north of Tal Afar,” the WMC said.
Last week, Lt.Gen. Abdul Amir Yarallah said the fourth phase of liberation will be launched soon to free Tal Afar and other regions to complete the liberation of the whole province.
A source was quoted earlier this month as saying that non-Iraqi IS militants executed the last local leader in Tal Afar and the town is currently run by Arab and foreign members after eliminating all the Iraqi leaders.
Tal Afar is one of the important strongholds still held by IS in Nineveh since August 2014, while Hawija has been held by IS since mid-2014, when the group emerged to proclaim an Islamic “caliphate” in Iraq and Syria.
ISIS stay-behinds intensify suicide attacks
Mosul (IraqiNews.com) A few dozen Islamic State militants are targeting Iraqi forces with suicide attacks in western Mosul’s Old City area even after the government officially declared victory over the militant group earlier this month, a newspaper reports.
London-based AlQuds Alarabi said Thursday that the sounds of explosions and fire exchanges were still being heard at the streets and alleyways of the medieval district that witnessed the declaration of the group’s rule in 2014.
It quoted a lieutenant in the Iraqi Federal Police, who asked not to be named, saying that the group has retuned back to action in the Old City, fighting government troops with suicide bombings in defense of its last pockets. He said the situation prompted field leaders to ask the government for reinforcements.
“There are nearly 150 suicide fighters, including women, who are still trapped in the alleyways of the Old City, with no other option but to die,” said the officer. “Those had sneaked in from the Tigris River, and have launched quick and organized attacks against the Iraqi army and police troops”.
According to the police source, eliminating those last few fighters was “a matter of time”, adding that they have become under a full siege, denied supplies, and are told through loudspeakers to choose between surrendering or dying.
ISIS Golden Throat dies in airstrike near Mosul
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Seven Islamic State members, including the so-called “emir of communications”, were killed in an air strike that targeted positions held by the group on the outskirts of Tal Afar town, west of Mosul, Alsumaria News reported on Thursday.
A local source told Alsumaria that fighter jets bombed a two-floor building on the outskirts of Tal Afar. The building was completely collapsed, said the source.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source said that the IS used the building as a key position for the terror group’s communications in Tal Afar.
Islamic State still holds Tal Afar, one of the remaining key strongholds inside the Nineveh province.
Earlier today, around six IS militants were killed as Iraqi army targeted IS locations in Tal Afar town.
In a statement on Thursday, the Defense Ministry’s War Media Cell said Iraqi army jets “launched airstrikes targeting IS locations in Tal Afar”.
“Around six militants were killed in al-Ayadiya district, north of Tal Afar,” the WMC said.
A source was quoted earlier this month as saying that non-Iraqi IS militants executed the last local leader in Tal Afar, and that the town was later run by Arab and foreign members after eliminating all the Iraqi leaders.
3 Iraqi soldiers die in suicide attack near Mosul
Baaj (IraqiNews.com) An Islamic State suicide bomber killed three Iraqi army soldiers at an area recaptured weeks ago by paramilitary forces west of Mosul, a police officer was quoted saying Thursday.
Cap. Younis Aref, from Nineveh police department, told BasNews that the suicide bomber drove a booby-trapped car into a checkpoint run by the Iraqi army in al-Baaj region, near the borders with Syria, killing three soldiers.
Baaj and neighbouring Qairawan were both recaptured from IS militants by Popular Mobilization Forces in June. The militias claimed control over the borderline and said they effectively trapped IS inside Mosul.
Islamic State members have reportedly carried out intermittent attacks against security forces over the past few days even after the Iraqi government declared victory over the group in Mosul earlier this month.