Iraqi troops kill 136 ISIL Takfiris: Defense Ministry

Iraq’s Defense Ministry said in a Saturday statement that government troops, backed by volunteer forces, killed more than 85 Takfiri militants and wounded five others during “Fajr al-Karma Operation,” which is underway in the volatile western and northern provinces of Anbar and Salahuddin.
 
It added that at least five terrorists also died in another operation in an area in Anbar. Five boats belonging to the terrorists were also destroyed in the offensive.
 
An Iraqi security source also said that Iraqi fighter jets have targeted terrorist hideouts in Sufia district east of Ramadi, the provincial capital of Anbar, leaving 16 Takfiri militants dead.
 
Iraqi warplanes also bombarded ISIL positions in Albu Faraj district west of Ramadi, killing 30 terrorists and destroying five vehicles.
 
This came a day after head of Baghdad Operational Command Lieutenant General Abdul Amir al-Shammari told Sky News Arabia that units of government forces have killed more than 250 ISIL Takfiri militants during fierce exchanges of fire and wrested control of swathes of territory in Anbar.
 
Colonel Mahadi Abbas, a police official in Anbar, also said the Iraqi forces managed on Friday to retake the al-Houz bridge in the city of Ramadi that extends along the Euphrates River.
 
ISIL launched an offensive in Iraq in June last year and took control of Mosul, the country’s second-largest city, before sweeping through parts of the country’s heartland.
 
The terrorists have committed heinous crimes and threatened all communities, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, and Christians during their advances in Iraq. 
 
Iraqi soldiers, police units, Kurdish forces, Shia fighters and Sunni tribesmen have been engaged in joint operations against the ISIL Takfiris and managed to drive the terrorists out of many areas under their control.