News / Iraq

Iraqi warplanes kill nearly dozen Daesh militants near Iran border

Sunday, 31 December 2017 1:57 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 31 December 2017 5:19 PM ]

This file picture shows an F-16 fighter jet operated by the Iraqi Air Force.

A high-ranking Iraqi military official says nearly a dozen Daesh Takfiri terrorists were killed when Iraqi Air Force fighter jets bombarded their positions in the country’s eastern province of Diyala near the border with Iran.

Commander of Tigris Operations, Lieutenant General Mizher al-Azzawi, said on Sunday that 11 Daesh militants were killed as Iraqi military aircraft launched precision strikes against their camp north of al-Muqdadiyah city, located about 80 kilometers northeast of the capital Baghdad, Arabic-language al-Sumaria television network reported.

Azzawi added that Daesh extremists have incurred heavy losses over the past few months as government forces, supported by allied fighters from popular Mobilization Units – better known by the Arabic word Hashd al-Sha’abi, have shelled their hideouts in several areas of Diyala province.

Daesh governor slain northeast of Baqubah

Meanwhile, the security committee in Diyala provincial council announced on Sunday a self-proclaimed Daesh governor, whose identity was not immediately known, had been killed as Iraqi military aircraft struck militant outposts in Hoz Naft Khaneh area, situated 90 kilometers northeast of the provincial capital city of Baqubah.

The head of the committee, Sadiq al-Husseini, said a number of Daesh positions had been destroyed in airstrikes on Wadi Thalab and Hawi al-Azim areas.

Daesh attack leaves 4 civilians dead, 9 others injured

Separately, four people lost their lives and nine others sustained injuries late on Saturday when Daesh militants launched an attack in Iraq's northern Salahuddin province.

The media bureau of Hashd al-Sha’abi stated that Daesh Takfiris used heavy weapons and blew up bombs in al-Farhatiyah region, before escaping from the area.

Injured people receive medical treatment in Baqubah, eastern Iraq, on December 31, 2017 following a Daesh terrorist attack in the al-Farhatiyah region. (Photo by al-Forat news agency)

According to the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), a total of 117 Iraqi civilians lost their lives last month, and 264 others were injured as a result of acts of terrorism and violence across Iraq in November.

A large number of the fatalities were recorded in the capital province of Baghdad, where 51 civilians were killed and 150 others wounded.

Twenty-four people were killed and 60 others injured in Salahuddin province. The northern oil-rich province of Kirkuk saw a dozen civilians killed and 28 others injured.

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