Iraqi jets foil IS attack on army in Anbar, kill 20 militants
Representational photo.
L. Gen. Qassem al-Mohammadi, commander of the army’s al-Jazeeera Operations, said the militants were detected and targeted by the air force while approaching an army deployment west of Um al-Wez region, southwest of Haditha.
The Iraqi army command in Anbar declared on the 5th of January the start of operations to retake western Anbar regions, close to the borders with Syria, from militants who occupied them since the emergence of the Islamic State in 2014. The operations lasted for a few days, recapturing a few villages, before halting again. Observes see confusion regarding readiness to launch operations in the province, pointing out to the fact that the start of the security offensive was not officially declared by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi as was the case with Mosul, where government forces have recaptured a half of the city.
Security sources said a week earlier that the government had decided to halt battles in Anbar until the end of security operations to retake Mosul, Islamic State’s biggest bastion in Iraq.