Over 80 Islamic State members killed between February, March: Statement
Paramilitary fighters and military vehicles are seen during a military operation to retake positions held by Islamic State militants, on the outskirts of Muqdadiyah in Diyala province, north of Baghdad January 25, 2015. Picture taken January 25, 2015. REUTERS
A statement by the intelligence of al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) said “18 operations were carried out in Kirkuk and towns of Hawija, al-Riyad and al-Rashad between February 24 to March 27, during which 82 IS members were killed, while two others were wounded. Several types of weapons were seized as well as rest houses and tunnels.”
The operations, according to the statement, were carried out by PMFs, in collaboration with Federal Police, military and air force. They took place in 20 villages.
In March, PMFs’ Kirkuk operations command said troops killed 80 members of the extremist group over the past 20 days.
Abadi announced, in December, full liberation of Iraqi lands, declaring end of war against IS members
Thousands of IS militants as well as Iraqi civilians were killed since the government campaign, backed by paramilitary troops and the coalition, was launched in October 2016 to fight the militant group.
As many as 3,298 civilians were killed and 4,781 others were wounded in 2017, excluding Anbar civilian casualty figures for November and December, which are not available, UNAMI said in a report in December.