Two senior figures of Daesh killed in Iraq airstrikes

Iraqi officials have announced the death of two senior figures of Daesh terrorists in airstrikes as the military and volunteer fighters try to retake the flashpoint city of Ramadi from the Takfiri militants.

The Iraqi military media office said in a statement on Thursday that Iraq’s F-16 fighter jets had carried out successful operations in Salahuddin Province north of the capital Baghdad, killing Omar Abu Jandal al-Doraji, known as the chief of Daesh’s mining and bombing operations, around the city of Samarra.

The statement said another airstrike hit the house of Sheikh Abd al-Hadi, the chief executioner of Daesh, in the northern Nineveh Province.  

Iraqi officials declared on Thursday that eight senior Daesh commanders were killed in airstrikes in Hawija and Anbar, north and west of Iraq respectively, adding that the attacks also killed dozens of other terrorists in the two locations.

The Iraqi military and allied volunteer fighters have stepped up military operations in a bid to fully liberate Ramadi, the provincial capital of Anbar.

General Ismail al-Mahlawi, the head of Iraqi military operations in Anbar, said his forces “need time” to dislodge the militants from the city considering the presence of snipers and mined buildings.

Iraqi forces  managed to retake two key streets in Ramadi, edging closer to the government buildings under the occupation of Daesh. Reports said that the army and pro-government forces seized control of al-Hawz and al-Forsan streets and surrounded the terrorists.

The Iraqi military had also reported considerable gains against the militants in Ramadi on Tuesday.

Mahlawi said around 50 families trapped inside Ramadi had managed to reach government-controlled safe areas. 

Iraq’s Summeriyah news said on Thursday that military and pro-government forces had managed to fully clear two districts they had recaptured from Daesh two days earlier. It said at least 20 Daesh militants were killed during the mop-up operation in al-Zobbat and al-Aramel neighborhoods. 

Other reports said Daesh elements inside Ramadi had reportedly executed 50 local youths for disobeying their orders. Those executed had refused to wear explosive devises and carry out attacks against Iraqi forces.

Meanwhile, Iraq’s intelligence service said in a statement on Thursday that it had managed to net 40 Daesh militants in two provinces of Baghdad and Diyala.

"The Iraqi national intelligence service, in coordination with Baghdad and Diyala security forces, carried out an operation which resulted in the arrest of 40 members of varying rank," the statement said, adding that those detained had asked for assistance from cells in other parts of Iraq.

The intelligence service said that in the operation security forces had managed to seize  “many bombs, suicide belts and cars... as well as large amounts of money” that the terrorists used to fund their criminal activities.

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