39 Islamic State fighters killed after foiled attack east of Salahuddin
Salahuddin (IraqiNews.com) Thirty-nine fighters from Islamic State were killed on Tuesday after army forces pushed back an attack on troops at Tal Kusaiba, east of Salahuddin, according to a security source.
“By escalating its attacks against security troops in Salahuddin, the group is seeking to hinder any advancement towards Hawija, Kirkuk,” the source told Alsumaria News.
Since they drove out Islamic State militants from the region mid January 2016, security forces have been in control over Tal Kusaiba, fighting off occasional attacks by IS militants there.
Islamic State has escalated attacks across Iraqi provinces, including Salahuddin, since Iraqi government forces managed to retake a half of its largest bastion in the country, the city of Mosul, since October 2016. Observers believe the extremist group is trying to make up for daily losses in Mosul and to relieve security pressure on that front by attacking security and civilians at other cities.
The group has lost at least 3300 of its personnel in the operations at Mosul, and reports have been recurring about internal divisions and fighters’ escapes since government forces launched the offensives to retake Mosul.
Bomb blast near house north of Babel, no casualties
Babel (IraqiNews.com) A security source in Babel Province revealed that an improvised explosive device exploded near a house in al-Iskandariyah area, north of Babel, without causing any casualties or material losses, Alsumaria News reported on Monday.
The source said, “An improvised explosive device exploded, at noon today, near a house in al-Shuhada neighborhood in al-Iskandariyah area (55 km north of Babel).”
“The explosion did not cause any human or material losses,” the source added on condition of anonymity.
The source further added that security forces rushed to the area of incident, cordoned it off and started to search for the perpetrators of the bombing.
WMC: Airstrike destroys IS Hummer vehicle in Tal Afar
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) The Ministry of Defense’s War Media Cell announced on Monday destroying a hummer vehicle belonging to the Islamic State, as well as killing its occupants, by an air strike in Tal Afar, west of Nineveh.
The Cell said in a statement, “Iraqi Army Aviation carried out an air strike, destroying a Hummer vehicle belonging to the Islamic State group, and killing its occupants, in Tal Afar area, west of Nineveh.” 
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