4 army personnel killed in confrontations against Islamic State, northwest of Mosul
Paramilitary fighters and military vehicles are seen during a military operation to retake positions held by Islamic State militants, on the outskirts of Muqdadiyah in Diyala province, north of Baghdad January 25, 2015. Picture taken January 25, 2015. REUTERS
Speaking to BasNews website, Lt. Gen. Hazem Tawfiq said “security troops are currently cordoning Badush mountains and carried out a wide-scale campaign to storm the tunnels, where the militants are hiding.This came in the wake of clashes, earlier today, [in al-Lazaka village] between army personnel and the militants.”
“Four personnel were killed, while the militants ran away,” he added.
Troops, according to Tawfiq, “are progressing with support by army jets, which began shelling ahead of raiding the tunnels.”
Earlier today, a mayor was killed in an armed attack carried out by Islamic State members, south of Mosul. The attack was the second in less than three days, as the militant group targeted a mayor in Hatra on Friday and killed him along with his son and another civilian.
A total of 90 Iraqi civilians were killed, while 117 others were injured due to acts of violence and terrorism during the month of August, according to the monthly count by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).
The worst affected province was Baghdad with 77 civilian casualties (24 killed and 53 injured.) Then comes Nineveh with 39 casualties (29 killed and 10 injured). Anbar came in the third place with 32 casualties (6 killed and 26 injured).