15 Islamic State militants, volunteer fighters killed in Shirqat clash

Shirqat (IraqiNews.com)  Fifteen Islamic State members and volunteer civilian fighters were killed Tuesday during a security operation in the eastern side of Shirqat, Salahuddin province.

A security source told Baghdad Today that volunteer tribal fighters were on a chase of Islamic State members in Tal al-Hawa region. While the volunteers managed to kill eight militants, a remaining number of them pretended death, and blew themselves using explosive belts when approached by the fighters, leaving seven dead.

Shirqat civilians had formed combat groups to assist security forces combing the town for IS vestiges.

Iraq’s military command announced the recapture of Shirqat late September.

A wide-scale campaign backed by a U.S.-led coalition launched in 2016 to retake major enclaves held by IS since 2014. The campaign liberated the group’s former capital, Mosul, the town of Tal Afar, Kirkuk’s town of Hawija and Anbar’s Annah. Only Anbar’s Rawa and Qaim currently remain under actual IS control.