Sat Jul 30, 2016 16:03:52
At least 13 notorious ISIS (Daesh / ISIL) leaders were killed by Iraqi warplanes near the Syrian border, Al-Alam News Network reports.
Among the dead is deputy of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the ringleader of the ISIS, an army statement said.
The Iraqi fighter jets launched an airstrike on a gathering center of ISIS commanders in al-Qa'em town, which is located nearly 400km Northwest of Baghdad near the Syrian border, it added.
The statement said that the airstrike also led to the destruction of two booby-trapped cars and a bomb-making plant.
The statement also pointed to massive explosions at the site "which means the high quantities of ammunition and explosive belts which were destroyed".
Reports said earlier this week that commanders of the ISIS terrorist group have ordered their forces and family members to leave their last bases and strongholds in Western Iraq as Iraq's military forces are preparing to launch massive military operations in the region, local sources said Tuesday.
"The Iraqi military forces are preparing to capture the last ISIS strongholds in Western Iraq and the military equipment for these operations have been fully supplied and transferred, and we are waiting for the final order by the joint operations command center to attack al-Khalediya island and Heet town in the Western parts of al-Anbar province," Head of the Security Committee of al-Anbar province's Council Rajeh al-Issawi said on Tuesday.
Also, a local source in Western Iraq said that the ISIS commanders and their families have fled the al-Baghdadi island in the Western parts of Heet, one of the most notorious ISIS bases.
The source added that ISIS commanders, fearing the Iraqi army and popular forces' rapid advance, have fled towards al-Qae'm town in Western al-Anbar, FNA reported.
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