Iraqi Forces Kill 27 Daesh Terrorists, Destroy 120 positions in Northern Iraq

By Staff, Agencies

At least 27 terrorists from Daesh [the Arabic acronym for ‘ISIS/ISIL’ group] were killed in an offensive targeting their positions in a mountainous area in northern Iraq, the Iraqi military said on Wednesday.

Iraqi security forces, backed by Iraqi aircraft, launched the offensive on March 9 and continued for 14 days in the Makhmour mountain range in southeast of Nineveh's provincial capital Mosul, Yahia Rasoul, spokesman of the Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi forces, said in a statement.

The offensive included 312 airstrikes that destroyed 120 Daesh positions and caves used by the terrorists, leaving an unknown number of them killed inside the bombarded sites, while snipers from the security forces spotted and killed 27 of those who escaped the attacked positions, the statement said.

The mountains and vast rugged areas in the north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad have witnessed intense activities of Daesh terrorists during the past months, despite repeated military operations to hunt them down.

The security situation in Iraq has been improving since Iraqi security forces fully defeated the terror outfit across the country late in 2017.

However, Daesh remnants have since melted in urban areas or deserts and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians.