IS ‘education official’ killed in coalition airstrike, western Mosul
Smoke rises after an airstrike, during the battle against Islamic State militants, at the district of al-Mamoun in Mosul, Iraq, March 1, 2017. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani – RTS10XG7
In a statement posted on its Facebook page, CTD said, “Islamic State’s education department official Ali Reda Mahmoud was killed on Saturday in an airstrike by the international coalition jets in Tal Afar town, western Mosul.”
The group has sustained severe losses in personnel and ground since an offensive was launched in mid October to retake Mosul, the second-largest Iraqi city and the militants’ last urban stronghold in the country. The U.S.-led coalition had estimated the number of remaining IS militants in Mosul by less than 1000.
On Saturday, news websites quoted sources as saying that new plan was drawn to liberate the city of Mosul before mid-May.
A major offensive was launched in February by Iraqi troops, backed by the international coalition and paramilitary troops, to retake western Mosul from IS. Eastern Mosul was recaptured in January after three months of battles.
Iraqi troops currently control 4000 kilometers of the city, the U.S. State Department tweeted on Friday.
Over four million persons were displaced inside the country since emergence of IS in 2014.