News / Iraq

Iraq's Kurdish fighters liberate nine villages from Daesh terrorists

Monday, 30 May 2016 5:40 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 30 May 2016 5:40 PM ]

An Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighter ties up his shoelaces during an operation aimed at retaking areas from Daesh on May 29, 2016. (AFP photo)

Iraq's Kurdish fighters have managed to liberate several villages from the clutches of the Daesh Takfiri militants in east of Mosul.

The Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) said in a statement that Kurdish Peshmerga forces wrapped up an operation east of Daesh terrorists' main hub of Mosul on Monday after recapturing nine villages.

The statement listed nine villages that had been held by Daesh terrorists since the summer of 2014 and were previously mainly inhabited by northern Iraq's Kakai and Shabak minorities.

The KRSC said the high-scale military operation which was launched by around 5,500 Peshmerga fighters before dawn on Sunday "had achieved its key objectives."

The statement also noted that Kurdish forces recaptured an area of 120 square kilometers during the two-day anti-Daesh offensive. The area lies near the main road between Mosul and Erbil, the autonomous Kurdish region's capital.

The KRSC further said 140 Daesh terrorists were killed and 14 car bombs were destroyed during the course of the operation. At least four Kurdish forces were killed and nearly three dozen sustained injuries during the fierce fighting.

Iraqi federal police officers stand at the front line during the fight against Daesh terrorists outside Fallujah, Iraq, May 28, 2016. (AP photo)

The developments come as Iraqi commanders said on Monday that their forces entered the city of Fallujah in a major victory against Daesh militants. The troops entered the city from three directions in a new phase of an operation to recapture it.

Gruesome violence has plagued the northern and western parts of Iraq ever since Daesh launched an offensive in the Arab state two years ago.

The Iraqi military and volunteer fighters are engaged in joint military operations to win back militant-held regions.

In recent months, Daesh terrorists have been losing ground in both Syria and Iraq, where they have been involved in a campaign of terror.

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