Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Baghdad

Aerial bombardment destroys 3 Islamic State armored vehicles, tunnel in Anbar

 Aerial bombardment destroys 3 Islamic State armored vehicles, tunnel in Anbar

A group of Islamic State militants hold a parade wearing their custom black uniforms

A group of Islamic State militants hold a parade wearing their custom black uniforms.

Anbar (IraqiNews.com) – Three armored vehicles and a secret tunnel of Islamic State were destroyed Tuesday in an airstrike by the international coalition warplanes on the group’s last bastion of Rawa in western Anbar, a security source said.

“Based on intelligence reports, the U.S.-led international coalition warplanes bombarded several outposts of Islamic State in Rawa island, west of Anbar, leaving an untold number of IS militants dead,” the source told Basnews website.

“The aerial bombardment left three armored vehicles and a secret tunnel completely destroyed,” the source added.

Iraq declared the collapse of Islamic State’s territorial influence last November with the recapture of Rawa, a city on Anbar’s western borders with Syria, which was the group’s last bastion in Iraq.

IS declared a self-styled “caliphate” in a third of Iraq and neighboring Syria in 2014. A government campaign, backed by a U.S.-led international coalition and paramilitary forces, was launched in 2016 to retake IS-held regions, managing to retake all havens, most notably the city of Mosul, the group’s previously proclaimed capital.

In December, Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced full liberation of Iraqi lands, declaring the end of a three-year war against IS members.

Despite the group’s crushing defeat at its main havens across Iraq, Islamic State continues to launch sporadic attacks against troops with security reports warning that the militant group still poses a threat against stability in the country.

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