Four paramilitary personnel, three IS killed in attack, east of Tikrit
Al-Hashed al-Shaabi Militia. File photo.
“IS members launched early today an attack against the ninth brigade near al-Dour city, which left four personnel of al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) killed and three others wounded. Three militants were also killed,” the source told DPA.
“The attack was launched from Mutaibija, which is adjacent to Diyala province. More than thirty militants on board of ten vehicles with guns took part in the attack,” the source added.
“Mortar missiles were shot against PMFs locations before the attack,” he said.
Iraqi joint troops launched a three-day operation against IS locations in Mutaibija, located on borders between Diyala and Salahuddin provinces. The troops managed to clear the areas until the upper region of the valley of Udhaim river, however, they retreated due to heavy forests and the complicated terrain.
Iraqi forces, backed by a U.S.-led coalition and paramilitary troops, have been fighting since October 2016 to retake territories Islamic State had occupied. Since then, forces took back the group’s former capital, Mosul, the town of Tal Afar, Kirkuk’s Hawija, and Anbar’s Annah, Rawa and Qaim.