Seven pro-gov’t troops killed, injured in armed attack by Islamic State in Mosul
Iraqi security forces evacuate an injured soldier during heavy fighting against Islamic State group militants in Fallujah, Iraq. (AP Photo/Anmar Khalil)
Nineveh (Iraqinews.com) – Seven paramilitary troops of al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) were killed and injured Monday in an armed attack by the Islamic State (IS) group in Mosul, a security source was quoted as saying.
Speaking to Shafaq News website, the source said, “the pro-government troops were gathering inside a house at Mukeshefah village in southwestern Mosul when the IS militants attacked them, leaving four dead and three others injured.”
The source, who preferred to be unnamed, added that IS insurgents “seized weapons and a vehicle belonging to the troops following the armed attack.”
On Sunday, an Iraqi official source said that eight IS militants were arrested in a military operation at al-Ba’aj district, 70 km northwest of Mosul, after receiving accurate intelligence reports on their locations.
Among the arrested were two senior IS leaders, who assumed top posts at the so-called Baytul Mal (House of Money) and defense ministry of the Islamic State.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced in July the liberation of the second largest Iraqi city of Mosul from IS militants, who had captured it in 2014.
More than 25,000 militants were killed throughout the campaign, which started in October 2016.
A government campaign, backed by paramilitary troops and a U.S.-led international coalition, has been fighting the Islamic State group, which declared a self-styled “caliphate” from Mosul in June 2014.