Twenty Islamic State members killed in coalition airstrike western Anbar

Anbar (IraqiNews.com) Twenty Islamic State members were killed in an airstrike launched by the international coalition jets in the city of Annah, west of Anbar, the Iraqi army said on Sunday.

“The international coalition jets bombarded IS haven in Annah city (210 KM western Ramadi), leaving it destroyed,” Lt. Gen. Qassem Mohammedi, head of Jazeera Operations Command told AlSumaria News.

“Twenty IS militants were killed as result of the airstrike,” Mohammedi added.

IS held Rawa, Qaim and Annah, all in western Anbar, since the group emerged in 2014 to proclaim a self-styled “Islamic Caliphate”. Thousands of civilians are besieged there to be used as human shields.

In March, reports indicated possible joint operations by the Iraqi and U.S. forces to clear the three towns located near the borders with Syria.

Earlier this year in January, the province’s military command launched a brief assault that managed to recapture some western villages before stopping again. Fighter jets from the Iraqi army and the international coalition have also regularly pounded IS locations in the province.

The Iraqi government plans a military operation to liberate those regions once it finishes its almost seven-month-old campaign to retake the city of Mosul, Islamic State’s largest stronghold in Iraq.