Iraqi government forces, backed by military aircraft, have launched successful clean-up operations against Daesh terrorist group, dealing heavy blows to the Takfiri militants.
On Wednesday, at least 34 Daesh terrorists were killed when Iraqi fighter jets carried out precision strikes against four terrorists’ hideouts in a number of districts in the embattled western province of Anbar as well as the city of Husaybah, which lies seven kilometers (4.5 miles) east of the provincial capital city of Ramadi, Arabic-language al-Forat news agency reported.
Three vehicles belonging to the terrorists were also destroyed in the attack.
Separately, fighters from pro-government Popular Mobilization Units pounded Daesh positions on the outskirts of the volatile northern city of Samarra, located 125 kilometers (78 mi) north of the capital, Baghdad, killing an unspecified number of the terrorists.
Volunteer forces also targeted two vehicles occupied by Daesh militants in the al-Siniya district of the northern province of Salahuddin, leaving all those onboard dead.
The developments came a day after Iraqi warplanes carried out an airstrike in the town of al-Qa'im, situated about 500 kilometers (about 310 miles) west of Baghdad, killing a number of high-profile Daesh figures, among them Saudi national Musab al-Jazrawi better known by the nom de guerre, Abu Faris.
Daesh Takfiris demolish Iraq's oldest monastery in Mosul
In another gruesome act of vandalism, Daesh militants reduced to piles of rubble Iraq’s oldest Catholic monastery, which was built in the now militant-held city of Mosul as many as 1,400 years ago.
The Takfiri militants used explosives to raze to the ground the monastery, which housed generations of monks, in the Deir district of Mosul, located some 400 kilometers (250 miles) north of Baghdad, on Wednesday.
Violence has plagued the northern and western parts of Iraq ever since Daesh terrorists launched an offensive in June 2014, and took control of parts of the Iraqi territory.
Army soldiers and fighters from allied Popular Mobilization Units are currently battling to win back militant-held regions in joint operations.