45 Islamic State militants killed in coalition airstrikes in Anbar: Military

Anbar (IraqiNews.com) Forty five Islamic State militants were killed in airstrikes by the anti-IS international coalition jets, south of Hit, Anbar, a military official said.

“The U.S.-led Coalition jets shelled a convoy of IS vehicles in the desert in south of Kubaisa, south of Hit,” Maj. Gen. Noaman Abd al-Zawba’i, commander of the army’s seventh division, told AlSumaria News on Friday.

The shelling left forty five militants killed and six vehicles destroyed,” Zawba’i said. “The militant group was planning to target safe places in Anbar before foiling its attempt.”

Kubaisa has been controlled by security forces and tribes since 2016, however, troops thwart attack by the group every now and then.

Iraqi army announced the total recapture of the town of Annah, hours after recapturing neighboring Rayhana area, earlier this month. Troops also liberated Akashat region, between Rutba town, on borders with Jordan, and Qaim, on borders with Syria.

Anbar’s western towns of Qaim and Rawa have been held by the extremist group since 2014, when it occupied one third of Iraq to proclaim a self-styled Islamic “Caliphate”. Iraqi troops were able to return life back to normal in the biggest cities of Anbar including Fallujah, Ramadi and others after recapturing them in 2015 and 2016.