Iraqi forces, aided by the air power of a U.S.-led coalition, have evicted Islamic State from more than 95 percent of the territory it held in the two countries, in combat that killed thousands of their fighters, according to U.S. Central Command.
The successes have liberated almost 7 million Syrians and Iraqis living in former militant strongholds including Raqqa and Mosul, the command said Thursday in an analysis of a campaign which began in 2014.
Fighting in Iraq killed between 1,200 and 1,500 security personnel, wounding about 8,000 others, it said. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces who captured Raqqa this month lost about 1,100 troops, while 3,900 more were injured.
The coalition has backed local forces on the ground with a total of 27,566 airstrikes in the three years from September 2014, according to the command’s statement. During this period, there were 1,266 reports of possible civilian casualties, it said, 194 of which were found to be “credible.” At least 786 civilians “have been unintentionally killed by coalition strikes since the start of Operation Inherent Resolve” with many reports still being assessed.
The coalition of about 60 nations was built after Islamic State seized swaths of Syria and Iraq in offensives in mid-2014. Its assistance consisted mostly of airstrikes coupled with efforts to strengthen local forces.
Islamic State is fighting its last major battle in Syria in eastern Deir Ezzor province. Iraqi forces launched an offensive this week to liberate the border town of al-Qaim, the final Islamic State stronghold in the country. A separate statement by U.S central command said about 1,500 militants are in the town’s immediate vicinity.
On the military side, Iraqi army forces killed on Friday dozens of Islamic State members as operations launched to retake the group’s last bastions in Iraq in western Anbar, a military source was quoted saying.
Alsumaria News quoted the source saying that the army’s 8th division engaged with a group of Islamic State militants at south of al-Qaim, killing 25. Another source told Almaalomah news website that army warplanes killed dozens others of militants in Qaim’s desert.
The same website quoted Qatari al-Samarmad, a commander at the Mobilization forces in Anbar, saying that Iraqi troops were besieging IS militants at a “phosphate complex” in Qaim. He said the remaining militants in the town are stranded inside that facility.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared Thursday the launch of operations to clear the towns of Rawa and Qaim, Islamic State’s last havens on the borders with Syria. Since Islamic State militants took over large areas of Iraq and Syria to establish a self-styled “caliphate” in 2014, Iraqi government forces, backed paramilitary troops and U.S.-led coalition, launched a wide-scale campaign to retake those regions.
So far, the offensives managed to retake Mosul, the group’s former capital, the town of Tal Afar, west of Nineveh, Kirkuk’s town of Hawija and Anbar’s Annah. Local authorities and human rights agencies believe Islamic State members are holding tens of thousands of civilians in their western Anbar havens as future human shields, having killed hundreds for attempting to escape.
A monthly count by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), which excludes security members deaths, said 196 civilians were killed, while 381 others were wounded due to violence and armed conflicts during the month of September.
In the same context, Three people were wounded on Friday when a bomb blast hit an area east of Baghdad, according to police sources.
Alsumaria News quoted the source saying that an explosive device placed on the side of a road near a popular market in Nahrawan, east of the capital, went off, leaving three wounded.
A monthly count by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), which excludes security members deaths, said 196 civilians were killed, while 381 others were wounded due to violence and armed conflicts during the month of September. The fatalities included 10 foreign nationals. Baghdad was the most affected province with 37 deaths and 157 injuries. Dhi Qar province came in the second place with 82 killed and 93 injured. Anbar came in the third place with 20 killed and 46 injured.
The Iraqi capital has seen almost daily bombings and armed attacks against security members, paramilitary troops and civilians since the Iraqi government launched a wide-scale campaign to retake Islamic State-occupied areas in 2016.
While most of of the explosions and attacks in Baghdad go without a claim of responsibility, Islamic State has claimed several incidents.
Some security observers believe that even after Islamic State’s main havens across Iraqi provinces are conquered, the group may still constitute a security threat through sleeper cells and lone wolf attacks. The Iraqi government is preparing to drive the group out of its last havens in Iraq: the towns of Rawa and Qaim in western Anbar.