Iraqi troops kill Islamic State’s slaughterer, nine companions in Anbar

Anbar (Iraqinews.com) – Iraqi Special Forces carried out on Sunday an unexpected military operation in Anbar province, managing to kill 10 Islamic State (IS) militants, including a senior leader, who is code-named as the IS slaughterer, intelligence sources were quoted as saying.

The sources said, in statements to Shafaq News, that the troops launched the operation after receiving information about a plot by IS militants to target security forces in Anbar desert.

“Immediately, the troops geared up to hunt for IS plotters, who took the Anbar desert as a shelter, managing to kill 10 of them,” the sources pointed out, noting that among those killed in the operation is “Abu Taha al Tunsi, also known as the IS slaughterer, and nine of his companions.”

According to the sources, the troops also found a secret tunnel that was used by IS militant in Anbar desert.

Iraq declared the collapse of Islamic State’s territorial influence earlier in 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 the US-led international coalition, 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.