Prominent Islamic State leader killed in western Mosul
Members of the Iraqi rapid response forces fire a missile toward Islamic State militants during a battle in the south of Mosul, Iraq February 19, 2017. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra
In a statement, the directorate said, “according to information received, a terrorist called Ahmed Hashim Hamid, known as Abu Hammam, was killed over the past few days in western Mosul.”
The militant, according to the statement, “is the second man in the IS’s so-called ‘Sharia Diwan’.”
The directorate did not refer to whom killed the militant.
Earlier on the day, Federal Police said 34 IS militants, including a leader called abu Baraa al-Tounsi, in charge of explosives manufacturing workshops in the Old City, were killed during armed confrontations on al-Zanjili district in western Mosul.
Earlier this week, the troops said they aimed again at the strategic Old City from the southern entrances, reopening an old front after they have been sweeping through northwestern neighborhoods over the past few weeks in a way to invade the strategic Old City, where the group’s supreme leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, declared the establishment of the group’s rule in Iraq and Syria in 2014 at Grand Nuri al-Kabeer mosque.
The eastern side of Mosul was retaken in January after three months of battles. Another major offensive was launched in February to recapture the western flank of the city.