Police, PMUs say killed 60 IS militants west of Mosul
Smoke rises from clashes during a battle between Iraqi forces and Islamic State militants in the city of Mosul, Iraq, March 16, 2017. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal
Federal Police chief Shaker Jawdat said in statements his forces killed 30 Islamic State members, including the commander of its “special forces”, Abdel Qader Saleh, aka Abu Jarrah, near the fifth bridge linking the western area with the east.
He said Abu Jarrah was the leader of Jaish Dabeq (Army), an Islamic State sub-division.
Also in western Mosul, pro-Iraqi government paramilitary troops said they killed 30 other IS militants. Al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Units), said through their media service that troops, backed by Iraqi fighter jets, bombarded IS locations in Sallal and Kum al-Habib villages, causing the deaths and damages to combat equipment on the group’s side.
Dozens of IS militants of diverse nationalities were killed in security strikes in western Mosul over the past two days, including booby-trapping officials and children fighters recruiters.
Iraqi government forces, backed by PMUs and a U.S.-led coalition, have entered a fifth month of operations to retake Mosul from IS, recapturing the eastern side of the city in January and currently nearing the recapture of the west. Generals say they recaptured at least 50 percent of the western side.