Five IS militants killed, three arrested as police besiege them in Hawija
Federal police members aim their weapons at a man, whom they thought was a member of Islamic State but later turned out to be mentally handicapped, during a battle with Islamic State fighters at Bab al Beed district in the old city of Mosul
REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal
In a press release on Sunday, Lt. Gen. Shaker Jawdat, chief of Federal Police, said “troops killed five IS militants and arrested three others while besieging them in a haven in Hawija.”
Troops, according to Jawdat, “seized explosive belts and RPGs.”
Earlier on the day, paramilitary troops killed several IS militants who refused to turn in themselves in Hawija.
On Saturday, the Joint Operations Command said 385 IS members, including five snipers, were killed during the second phase of Hawija offensive. 150 villages in Hawija were freed, in addition to al-Abbassi region and the northern side of the town. Lt. Gen. Abdul Amir Yarallah, commander of Hawija Operations, said Federal Police, the rapid Response forces and PMFs accomplished their targets of the second phase.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi declared on Thursday liberation of Hawija. The second phase of the offensive was launched in late September.
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.
Having recaptured Hawija, Iraqi troops still have only western Anbar’s towns of Rawa and Qaim remain under the militant’s control.