Iraqi forces kill 150 Takfiri militants

Iraqi troops killed ISIL terrorists in Anbar, Salahuddin, Diyala and Babil provinces on Sunday as part of their operations to clear more areas of the militants.
 
In Anbar, government forces repelled militants’ offensive to seize the city of Haditha, which is some 200 kilometers west of Baghdad, and a dam on the nearby Euphrates River. A number of militants as well as soldiers were killed in the fighting.
 
Iraqi troops also clashed with ISIL militants in the city of Tikrit in Salahuddin Province, killing dozens of them and destroying 30 vehicles belonging to them.
 
    Mazban al-Badri, a cousin of ISIL’s leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and a senior leader in the militant group, was also reportedly among those killed in Diyala.
 
“The operation was carried out following precise intelligence information that the wanted man was staying in the area,” an official said in reference to al-Badri.
 
In Babil Province, Iraqi soldiers backed by helicopters and planes continued to clear Jurf al-Sakhar area from Takfiri militants.
 
The crisis in Iraq escalated after Takfiri ISIL terrorists took control of Mosul on June 10, which was followed by the fall of Tikrit, located 140 kilometers northwest of the capital.
 
The ISIL has vowed to continue its raid toward Baghdad.