Four paramilitary fighters killed in clashes with IS west of Mosul
Members of al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces). File photo.
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Four al-Hashd al-Shaabi (the Popular Mobilization Forces) fighters were killed in clashes with Islamic State militants near Tal Afar west of Mosul, Turkey’s Anadolu Agency reported on Tuesday.
Army Captain Jabbar Anad al-Khafaf told Anadolu that Dozens of IS elements attacked a position of al-Hashd al-Shaabi Ali Diwah Li village near Tal Afar.
“Clashes continued for three hours before the arrival of military reinforcements by the Iraqi army and al-Hashd al-Shaabi troops, which pushed IS militants to withdraw,” al-Khafa said. “Clashes left four dead and one injured”.
No details were reported about IS losses in the fighting.
IS has recently resorted to snap attacks against the Iraqi army and pro-government forces deployed in the desert areas surrounding Mosul.
On July 10, the Iraqi Prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi declared, victory in the city of Mosul, ending an eight-month campaign backed by a U.S.-led coalition and paramilitary forces, which has displaced more than 900.000 civilians.
The victory in Mosul also means an effective collapse of the Islamic State’s self-styled “caliphate” declared from Mosul’s Old City by the group’s supreme leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Al-Hashd al-Shaabi, an alliance of more than 60 mostly Shia militias, has been actively engaged in the government’s campaign against the Islamic State that ran since mid-October, and contributed to the campaign by regaining control over IS holdouts near the Syrian borders.