Troops kill 3 Islamic State members near Anbar lake

Anbar (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi government and paramilitary forces killed three Islamic State militants on Wednesday near a lake in Anbar province, a paramilitary commander said as the province awaits the liberation of the group’s last havens there.

Alsumaria News quoted Qatari al-Obaidi, a senior commander at Anbar’s tribal forces, saying that tribal forces, backing army troops, killed three Islamic State members near al-Thirthar lake, north of the province.

Since Islamic State militants took over large areas of Iraq and Syria to establish a self-styled “caliphate” in 2014, Iraqi government forces, backed paramilitary troops and U.S.-led coalition, launched a wide-scale campaign to retake those regions.

So far, the offensives managed to retake Mosul, the group’s former capital, the town of Tal Afar, Kirkuk’s Hawija and Anbar’s Annah. Only Qaim and neighboring Rawa currently remain in IS grip.

Local authorities and human rights agencies believe Islamic State members are holding tens of thousands of civilians in western Anbar as future human shields, having killed hundreds for attempting to escape.

A monthly count by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), which excludes security members deaths, said 196 civilians were killed, while 381 others were wounded due to violence and armed conflicts during the month of September.