International Coalition bombarded ISIS-held areas in Salahuddin

The U.S.-led Coalition has heavily bombarded several regions in east of Salahuddin, a local source from the province said on Wednesday. “Coalition jets heavily pounded several regions in Mutaibija, Salahuddin, targeting rest houses and vehicles containing explosives,” the source told AlSumaria News.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source said, “the heavy shelling by coalition jets was to ruin attempts by Islamic State to launch any surprise attacks from Mutaibija to break the seige imposed on the group after it lost Zarka bridge, which was important for logistic support from Hawija, few days ago.”

Occasional attacks have been witnessed in Mutaibija by Islamic State against government and paramilitary troops deployments since Iraqi forces, backed by a U.S.-led coalition and PMUs, launched a major offensive to retake areas occupied by IS since 2014.

Federal Police announced, earlier this week, liberation of eastern Shirqat, the group’s holdout in north of Salahuddin. 225 militants had been killed since the launch of operations in Shirqat, Jawdat previously announced. The Iraqi army said in September its forces recaptured the western coast of Shirqat, located south of Mosul, on the west bank of the Tigris river, after being surrounded for months by Iraqi troops and the pro-government Shi’ite militias.

Over 500 Islamic State militants were killed and more than 100 villages and regions were liberated during the first phase of offensives in southwest of Kirkuk, the military media said. In a statement on Wednesday, the Defense Ministry’s War Media Cell said, “joint troops, which took part in Hawija operations, managed to accomplish the first phase and achieve all the targets, inflicting huge losses on the enemy.

“Security troops killed 557 militants, destroyed 46 booby-trapped vehicles and 24 others. 381 IEDs were defused,” the statement said.

According to WMC, the army’s elite Counter-Terrorism Service liberated five villages, while Federal Police and al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) freed 63 villages. The army’s ninth armored division and PMFs managed to retake 35 villages, making the total number of regions and villages liberated reach 103.

“Troops also destroyed two booby-trapped workshops and handled 18 booby-trapped houses. 21 enemy’s locations were targeted, while ten weapon stashes were destroyed,” it added. On Sunday, the Joint Operations Command announced completing the first phase of operations to recapture Hawija, the group’s holdout in southwestern Kirkuk.

Launched last week, the operation managed to take over al-Zab river region, the northern part of Makhoul mountains and several villages west of Tigris River. Brig. Gen. Yahia Rasoul, spokesman of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command, said previously that the number of Islamic State members in Hawija falls between 800 and 1500.

In Anbar, Anbar province has repatriated 80 percent of its citizens who had been displaced by Islamic State militancy and counter military operations, according to a local official. Rageh Barakat, a member of the province’s council, said in a press statement that the scarcity of financial allocations remain an impediment to restoring services.

The war against Islamic State militants, who took over large areas of Iraq in 2014, has displaced nearly three million people, according to Iraqi government figures. The number of refugees from Nineveh, Kirkuk’s Hawija and Salahuddin’s Shirqat since the launch of anti-Islamic State operations in 2016 has reached 1.074.91, Migration and Displacement Minister Jassem al-Jaff, said last earlier this month.

The Iraqi government plans to repatriate all refugees by the end of 2017, according to earlier statements by migration officials. Iraqi forces, backed by a U.S.-led coalition and paramilitary troops, recaptured Mosul from IS militants early July. Last week, the government launched a last campaign to retake Islamic State’s remaining holdouts in Anbar, Kirkuk and Salahuddin.

Iraqi forces, backed by tribal troops and coalition aircraft, have recently recaptured Anbar’s town of Annah, a major Islamic State bastion, and are eyeing two other neighboring havens: Rawa and Qaim.