Saturday 2 September 2017

Iraq army kills more than 2,000 IS militants in battle to reclaim Tal Afar

A peshmerga convoy drives towards a frontline in Khazer, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) east of Mosul, Iraq.Photo:PTI

The Iraqi forces killed over 2,000 Islamic State (IS) militants and more than 50 suicide bombers during a major offensive to free Tal Afar area in west of Mosul, officials said.

"The IS total casualties in the blitzkrieg during the period from August 20 to 31 were more than 2,000 terrorists and over 50 suicide bombers, along with destroying and detonating of 77 car bombs, 71 booby-trapped buildings and 990 roadside bombs," Lt. Gen. Abdul Amir Yarallah from the Joint Operations Command (JOC) said at a televised press conference on Saturday, Xinhua news agency reported.

More than 40,000 Iraqi fighters from the Iraqi army, federal police and its commandos known as Rapid Response forces and Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) forces, in addition to ten brigades of the paramilitary Hashd Shaabi fighters, participated in the offensive, which was supported by Iraqi and international coalition aircraft, Yarallah said.

Yarallah also said that the Iraqi forces sustained 115 martyrs and 679 wounded during the 12-day battles to liberate Tal Afar and its surrounding areas, including the towns of Mahalabiyah and Ayadhiyah.
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