Thirty Islamic State women members had blew themselves up during battles with the group in western Mosul, according to a senior Iraqi commander. Twelve others had been arrested recently and referred to justice, according to Sabah al-Noaman, spokesperson of the army’s Counter-Terrorism Service. He said those arrested lately included French, German, Chechnyan, Iranian, Moroccan and Tunisian nationals.
Noaman said that security forces had managed to convince only two women not to proceed with suicide bombings, while attempts with the other 30 were futile. Iraqi government forces recaptured western Mosul early July, consummating the takeover of the whole of Islamic State’s former capital after more than eight months of battles.
Iraqi military officials were recently quoted in news reports saying that more than 1300 women and children of Islamic State fighters had surrendered to the troops in Tal Afar late August. The captives included Russian, Turkish and central Asian nationals, according to the officials.
IS has notoriously relied on women members to act as vigilantes on civilian females at areas under their control and also as fighters on the field. As U.S.-backed Iraqi operations realized victory in Mosul, many female militants were believed to either have died or fled to other group strongholds in Iraq and Syria.
In the same context, more than 32 Islamic State members were killed, while other civilians were wounded in airstrikes in western Anbar, a security source said.
“U.S.-led Coalition jets bombarded on Sunday IS locations in Qaim, Annah and Rawa, west of Anbar. Seventeen IS members, including leader, Mohamed Abboud Abd Manaf, were killed in Wadi al-Kasr region, located between Annah and Rawa. IS member in charge of the group’s prisons in Qaim, known as Farhan Rafiq Eteiwy, was also killed,” the source told Alghad Press on Sunday.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source added, “the shelling left five civilians wounded, with two of them in serious condition. Moreover, a group’s weapon stash was destroyed.”
On Friday, Coalition jets reportedly bombarded three booby-trapped vehicles in several regions in Annah, killing several militants. Late August, the Defense Ministry’s War Media Cell said the air force bombarded six IS locations in Qaim, killing 94 members, including a senior security commander and a close aide to the group’s supreme leader abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Anbar’s western towns of Anah, Qaim and Rawa are still held by the extremist group since 2014, when it occupied one third of Iraq to proclaim a self-styled Islamic Caliphate. Iraqi troops were able to return life back to normal in the biggest cities of Anbar including Fallujah, Ramadi and others after recapturing them.
Fighter jets from the Iraqi army and the international coalition regularly pound IS locations in the province.
On the other hand, Iraqi Federal Police forces will invade Islamic State’s havens in Salahuddin province within the coming days, a senior commander said Sunday.
Jaafar al-Battat, the service’s chief of staff, told Hona Baghdad satellite channel that “Federal Police forces have completed their mobilizations, awaiting orders from the supreme commander of the armed forces to move towards Shirqat”. He said no coordination is needed prior to that battle since it falls within the Federal Police’s axis of operations.
“We have concluded all preparations, and we will finish the enemy within the few next days,” Battat added, noting that there are between 300 and 400 militants in eastern Shirqat.
Islamic State has waged occasional attacks against civilians and security forces inside Salahuddin and at the province’s borders with Diyala over the past months coinciding with government operations that have, since October 2016, recaptured Mosul, Islamic State’s former capital, and Tal Afar.
The Iraqi Joint Operations Command has marked Kirkuk’s town of Hawija, an outstanding Islamic State bastion, as its next target. Besides Shirqat and Hawija, Islamic State is also still holding the towns of Annah, Rawa and Qaim in western Anbar. The Iraqi government, backed by a U.S.-led coalition and paramilitary troops, are hoping to mark an end to the self-proclaimed “caliphate” declared by IS in 2014.