Airstrikes destroy IS drones plant in Anbar, 4 militants dead
Islamic State drones.
The source told Aljournal news that intelligence information revealed that the strike destroyed the factory located near the Grand Mosque at the center of the IS-held town of Annah. The four militants killed in the strike included a Tajik drone expert, according to the source.
Militants barred civilians from going out of their homes so as not to expose the extent of the damage the factory had sustained in the offensive, the source stated.
“IS have manufactured tens of reconnaissance and bomb-supplied drones to target security forces,” according to the source.
Islamic State has been holding a number of towns in western Anbar, close to the borders with Syria, since it emerged in 2014 to proclaim an “Islamic Caliphate” on Iraqi territory. Army and U.S.-led fighter aircraft have occasionally pounded the group’s locations at those regions.
No official security campaign has been declared by the government yet to recapture western Anbar towns as its forces have been busy since mid October struggling to retake Mosul, Islamic State’s biggest stronghold in the country. Anbar’s military command launched a brief offensive early January, which succeeded in recapturing a few villages before halting again.