Iraqi army rings up one dead jihadi near Annah
Annah (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi army forces killed on Tuesday an Islamic State militant inside an underground tunnel in western Anbar as preparations continue to clear the group’s havens there.
Qatari al-Obaidi, a senior commander at the tribal troops in Anbar, told Alsumaria News that the militant was hiding in an underground tunnel in the town of Annah (210 Km west of Ramadi), which Iraqi forces recaptured last Thursday.
Islamic State held Anbar’s western towns of Annah, Qaim and Rawa since 2014, when they occupied one third of Iraq to proclaim a self-styled Islamic “Caliphate”. Iraqi troops were able to return life back to normal in the biggest cities of Anbar including Fallujah, Ramadi and others after recapturing them in 2015 and 2016.
11 ISIS Turbans die in fighting near Rawa including 1 Big Turban
Rawa (IraqiNews.com) Eleven Islamic State members, including a regional commander, were killed Tuesday in operations by Iraqi government and paramilitary troops launched preparing to clear those regions from militants.
Commando forces from the army’s 7th division, backed by Popular Mobilization Forces, killed eleven Islamic State members, including the so-called “wali” (viceroy) in an assault on the outskirts of Rawa, one of the group’s last two strongholds in western Anbar, according to Alghad Press.
The offensive also destroyed five rest houses used by the militants, according to sources talking with the website.
Islamic State held Anbar’s western towns of Annah, Qaim and Rawa since 2014, when they occupied one third of Iraq to proclaim a self-styled Islamic “Caliphate”. Iraqi troops were able to return life back to normal in the biggest cities of Anbar including Fallujah, Ramadi and others after recapturing them in 2015 and 2016.
Iraqi security forces smoke 20 ISIS Bad Guys near Ramadi
Ramadi (IraqiNews.com) Anbar security forces killed 20 Islamic State militants on Wednesday after brief encounters flared when group members invaded areas in the west and south of Ramadi.
Security declared a curfew in Ramadi earlier on Wednesday at al-Tash and the 5th Kilometer regions, south and west of Ramadi, with army and police forces putting the militants under siege there, Alsumaria reported.
Baghdad Today said the militants did take over al-Tash and al-Jamea (university) areas after invading them with 20 pickup trucks. The website added that the militants are currently holding civilians there.
Alsumaria quoted a commander in Anbar police service saying troops retook the two areas and killed 20 militants.
Government and tribal forces recaptured Ramadi from the Islamic State in December 2015, but have since then countered occasional attacks by the group and stopped booby-trapped vehicles at its checkpoints.
Islamic State is currently holding the towns of Rawa and Qaim on Anbar’s western borders with Syria as its last two strongholds in the province. Iraqi forces and tribal troops recaptured the town of Annah last Thursday, and are currently preparing for an offensive on Rawa.
Parallel operations are running to retake Islamic State-held town of Hawija in southwestern Kirkuk. U.S.-backed campaigns since October 2016 have so far liberated Mosul, IS’s former capital, and the town of Tal Afar, both in Nineveh.