“A force from the Iraqi army captured two al-Qaeda network senior commanders on the high road between Makhmour district and al-Qayara district near Makook village, 40 km west of Makhmour,” a source from Iraqi army 5th brigade, who requested anonymity, told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI).
The source pointed out “the detainees confessed in the primary investigations to be senior commanders in al-Qaeda network in Iraq (AQI) escaping the Operation Lion’s Roar in Rightful Assau launched in Mosul.”“The detainees admitted they involved in killing and kidnapping civilians,” he added.
Earlier, Iraqi Accordance Front (IAF), major Sunni bloc in parliament, revealed on Tuesday large numbers of gunmen have escaped after the commencement of military operations to the city of Hamrin and Upper Mosul towns.
On Sunday, the Ninewa operations commander Lt. General Riad Jalal Tawfiq said in a press conference that the military operation to crack down gunmen of al-Qaeda network in the province has started after "huge" military reinforcements arrived from the Iraqi capital Baghdad.
"The operation, codenamed Za'eer al-Assad Fi Saulat al-Haq (Lion's Roar in Rightful Assault), is focused on hunting down the al-Qaeda remnants in Ninewa as well as misled terrorist groups and outlaws," Tawfiq said in a statement he read out to reporters at the Ninewa Operations Command headquarters.
Makhmour district is a disputed area between Arbil and Ninewa provinces, lies 70 km south-west Arbil city, which lies 349 km north-east Baghdad.
AM/SR