Landmine explosion kills two paramilitary forces in Iraq’s Nineveh
Members of al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces). File photo.
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) – Six of the predominantly Shiite paramilitary Hashd Shaabi forces were killed and wounded Thursday in a landmine explosion, west of Mosul, their media office was quoted as saying.
“A force from the 15th brigade of Hashd Shaabi was on an inspection mission near Badush Dam in Nineveh to establish security there when one of their armored vehicles was hit by a landmine explosion that was left by Islamic State,” Alghad Press website quoted the media office of Hashd Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) as saying in a statement.
“The explosion left two of them dead and four others wounded,” according to the statement.
Former Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi announced in August 2017 that Nineveh province was fully liberated from Islamic State after the district of Tal Afar was recaptured.
The announcement came after the defeat of the jihadist group in the town of Ayadiya, where the militants had fled to from Tal Afar.
Islamic State militants seized control of much of Nineveh, including the provincial capital of Mosul, in June 2014.
The Iraqi government had launched an operation to retake Tal Afar on 20 August involving some 50,000 personnel from the army, air force, federal police, special forces and the Shia Muslim-led paramilitary Popular Mobilisation Forces.