Tribal fighters kill three IS militants hiding in eastern Shirqat
Tribal fighters. File photo.
Salahuddin (IraqiNews.com) Tribal fighters have killed three Islamic State militants hiding in northern Salahuddin, a security source said.
“Tribal Mobilization Forces managed to kill three Islamic State militants, who were hiding in the eastern side of Shirqat. Two of them were at Tal al-Hawa village, while the third was at al-Salman village,” the source told Baghdad Today on Friday.
This came within an operation carried out today to look for the remaining militants in the recently-liberated eastern Shirqat, according to the source.
Earlier on the today, al-Hashd al-Shaabi [Popular Mobilization Forces] killed five IS suicide attackers and arrested the sixth killed, as troops repulsed an attack in al-Siniyah region, north of Salahuddin.
On Thursday, PMFs killed an IS suicide attacker and were looking for others in north of Salahuddin, saying that several bombers were besieged in a tunnel at Makhoul mountains.
Federal Police announced, late September, liberation of eastern Shirqat, the group’s holdout in north of the province. 225 militants had been killed since the launch of operations in Shirqat.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi and the Joint Operations Command announced on September 21, the launch of first phase of operations to liberate Hawija and western Shirqat. Federal Police, Rapid Response and the pro-government Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) took part in the attack, according to the command.
The Iraqi army said in September 2016 its forces recaptured the western coast of Shirqat, located south of Mosul, on the west bank of the Tigris river, after being surrounded for months by Iraqi troops and the pro-government Shi’ite militias.