Three policemen killed in shootout with Islamic State in Mosul

Nineveh (Iraqinews.com) Three federal police forces were killed in a shootout with Islamic State west of Mosul, a security source told BasNews.

“IS militants launched an attack on a patrol of Federal Police at al-Nahrawan area in western Mosul, killing three policemen,” the source, who preferred to remain unnamed, said on Sunday.

“Police launched a manhunt for the assailants, who fled the scene after the shooting,” the source added.

Earlier in the day, a suicide bomber was killed before blowing himself up outside a house in Mosul.

“A bomber with an explosive belt was killed after one of the bombs he was carrying exploded while trying to blow himself up outside a house owned by the father of the former mayor of Mosul,” a security source told Shafaq News.

“The blast left no casualties among civilians,” the source stressed.

Last week, Abadi announced full liberation of Iraqi lands, declaring end of war against IS members. The declaration came after Lt. Gen. Abdul Amir Yarallah, commander of Upper Euphrates and Jazirah Combing Operations, announced liberation of all Iraqi lands from IS.

Violence in the country has surged further with the emergence of Islamic State extremist militants who proclaimed an “Islamic Caliphate” in Iraq and Syria in 2014.

A total of 117 Iraqi civilians were killed and another 264 injured, excluding police, in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in Iraq in November, according to casualty figures recorded by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).

Iraqi forces, backed by a U.S.-led coalition and paramilitary troops, have been fighting since October 2016 to retake territories Islamic State occupied in 2014.