Iraqi troops destroy four Islamic State tunnels in Nineveh
A Shi’ite volunteer wearing a mask, who has joined the Iraqi army to fight against the predominantly Sunni militants from the radical Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), looks on during a parade on a street in Kanaan, Diyala province, June 26, 2014.
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) – Iraqi security forces destroyed on Wednesday four Islamic State tunnels in Nineveh province, the Security Media Center said.
“The security forces in the Nineveh Operations Command found during a military operation in Nineveh province four tunnels that were used by Islamic State militants,” spokesman for the Security Media Center Yahya Rasool was quoted as saying by Alghad Press news website.
“The troops also found 10 mortar shells and nine explosive charges,” the spokesman said, adding that the tunnels were completely destroyed.
Former Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi announced in August 2017 that Nineveh province was fully liberated from Islamic State after the district of Tal Afar was recaptured.
The announcement came after the defeat of the jihadist group in the town of Ayadiya, where the militants had fled to from Tal Afar. Islamic State militants seized control of much of Nineveh, including the provincial capital of Mosul, in June 2014.
The Iraqi government launched an operation to retake Tal Afar on 20 August involving some 50,000 personnel from the army, air force, federal police, special forces and the Shia Muslim-led paramilitary Popular Mobilisation Forces.