Airstrike destroys Islamic State’s sniper unit, southwest of Kirkuk
Representational photo.
Speaking to AlSumaria News, the source said, “a sniper unit composed of between five to six members were hiding in a rest house at the outskirts of al-Rashad region, southwest of Kirkuk. The unit was destroyed in an airstrike, depending on intelligence information.”
The group, according to the source, who preferred anonymity, highly depends on the sniper units to face the advance of joint security troops.
Earlier on the day, Lt.Gen. Abdul Amir Yarallah, commander of the Hawija Operations, announced launching wide-scale military operations to free the region, as part of the second phase of operations to liberate Hawija.
The Iraqi joint troops announced on Sunday retaking 28 villages as part of operations to clear Hawija.
On Friday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi and the Joint Operations Command announced beginning of the second phase of Hawija offensive.
According to Defense Ministry’s War Media Cell, 557 IS militants were killed, while more than 100 villages and regions were liberated during the first phase, which launched on September 24th.
Hawija and other neighboring regions, west of Kirkuk, have been held by IS since mid-2014, when the group emerged to proclaim an Islamic “caliphate” in Iraq and Syria.