Suicide bomber kills 3 Iraqi security members west of Mosul
Iraqi security forces transport displaced civilians with an armoured fighting vehicle out of West Mosul during fighting with Islamic State militants in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq June 24, 2017. REUTERS/Marius Bosch
Mosul (IraqiNews.com) A suicide bomber killed three Iraqi army members on Friday as operations continue to clear Islamic State remnant militants in western Mosul.
A security source told Shafaq News that the bomber, donning an explosive belt, invaded a makeshift headquarter belonging to the army’s elite Counter-Terrorism Service in al-Aghawat neighborhood, west of the city. He blew himself up and killed three CTS members in an initial toll, said the website.
Iraqi government forces continue to comb Mosul for hidden Islamic State cells since Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi officially declared that the city became under troops’ control early July. Islamic State members have launched intermittent attacks against security forces and civilians over the past few weeks.
The Iraqi Joint Operations Command, which had led the campaign against IS in Mosul, said IS had lost more than 25.000 of its fighters in more than eight months of fighting. The government plans to launch further offensives to retake a few remaining havens in Nineveh, Kirkuk, Anbar and Salahuddin provinces.