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Iraq
Kirkuk Kombat Kronicle
2017-10-03
Iraqi forces capture al-Rashad region

Hawija (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi forces recaptured on Monday a strategic area on their way to retake Islamic State bastion Hawija, southwest of Kirkuk, paramilitary commanders reported.

Hadi al-Ameri, a high-profile commander within the Popular Mobilization Forces, said the force, backing the army’s Counter-Terrorism Service, liberated al-Rashad region, southeast of Hawija. He said troops began clearing the region from booby-traps.

Earlier on Monday, Iraqi military media said Iraqi forces advanced towards al-Rashad as part of the second phase of operations to liberate Hawija, which launched Friday.

The first phase of operations launched on September 24th, and managed to retake eastern Shirqat, an Islamic State haven in neighboring Salahuddin province.

Parallel operations were launched late September targeting IS havens in western Anbar.
On Sunday, military media said joint forces recaptured 28 villages around Hawija with a few hundreds of militants killed since the launch of operations.

A wide-scale campaign launched with the backing of a U.S.-led coalition in 2016 to recapture areas occupied by IS since 2014, when the militants declared a self-styled “caliphate” rule in Iraq and neighboring Syria based in Iraq’s Mosul.

Iraqi government, coalition and paramilitary forces recaptured Mosul, the group’s former capital, and the neighboring town of Tal Afar early July and late August.

ISIS Kommander dies in airstrike

Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) An Islamic State senior commander was killed along with a companion when warplanes bombarded their vehicle in southwestern Kirkuk, sources said as operations press on to clear the province from the last militants’ strongholds.

Alsumaria News quoted the source saying that Abu Karim al-Iraqi, who led Islamic State’s elite “special unit”, was killed along with a companion while driving their vehicle near al-Riyad region., an area close to Hawija, Islamic State’s last bastion in the province.

The so-called “special unit” is mostly composed of Iraqi nationals, and is tasked with combat raids, according to the source.

Earlier on Monday, Iraqi military media said Iraqi forces advanced towards al-Rashad as part of the second phase of operations to liberate Hawija, which launched Friday.

6 ISIS snipers turned into a fine, red mist

Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) Islamic State’s sniper unit has been destroyed in an airstrike in southwest of Kirkuk, a local source from the province said on Monday.

Speaking to AlSumaria News, the source said, “a sniper unit composed of between five to six members were hiding in a rest house at the outskirts of al-Rashad region, southwest of Kirkuk. The unit was destroyed in an airstrike, depending on intelligence information.”

The group, according to the source, who preferred anonymity, highly depends on the sniper units to face the advance of joint security troops.

Earlier on the day, Lt.Gen. Abdul Amir Yarallah, commander of the Hawija Operations, announced launching wide-scale military operations to free the region, as part of the second phase of operations to liberate Hawija.

Iraqi militia puts down ISIS Big Turban

Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) An Arab Islamic State leader has been killed in confrontations with the pro-government paramilitary troops in southwest of Kirkuk, a local source said.

“Abu Bilal al-Masri, a prominent Arab IS leader was killed in clashes with al-Hashd al-Shaabi [Popular Mobilization Forces] in Hawija, southwestern Kirkuk, as the militant was at the group’s defense lines,” the source told AlSumaria News on Monday.

“Al-Masri used to be nicknamed as Hummer, thanks to being good at using RPGs and targeting the Hummer vehicles. He was one of the main Arab leaders in the group’s so-called Kirkuk State,” the source, who preferred anonymity, added.

Several Arab and foreign IS leaders are deployed in Hawija, which is one of the group’s pivotal strongholds. Hawija and other neighboring regions, west of Kirkuk, have been held by IS since mid-2014, when the group emerged to proclaim an Islamic “caliphate” in Iraq and Syria.
Posted by:badanov

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