Iraq says government forces have launched fresh operations against the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group, inflicting heavy losses on the militants.
At least 75 Daesh extremists were killed when Iraqi planes bombed Daesh positions west of Tharthar in the embattled western province of Anbar on Wednesday, the Iraqi National Security Service said in a statement.
Scores of militants were also injured in the aerial assault, and a large number of bombs and armored vehicles were destroyed, it added.
Separately, government forces and tribal fighters captured several senior Daesh members, mostly of Syrian nationality, during an operation in the town of Barwanah northwest of Baghdad.
The self-proclaimed Daesh war minister, identified as Samer Mohammad Matloub Hussein al- Mahlawi, was also killed along with three aides in an Iraqi bombing in the town.
Scores of Daesh militants were killed in the Jebel Makhoul region north of Tikrit in an offensive by security forces and fighters from allied Popular Mobilization units.
Elsewhere, in the Albu Issa district in Anbar Province, Iraqi security forces stormed a militant hideout and killed seven Daesh Takfiris.
The northern and western parts of Iraq have been plagued by violence ever since Daesh began an offensive in Iraqi territory in June 2014.
Army soldiers and Popular Mobilization units have joined forces and are seeking to take back militant-held regions in joint operations.