Iraq says army government forces have launched fresh operations against the Takfiri ISIS (Daesh) terrorist group, inflicting heavy losses on the militants.
At least 75 ISIS extremists were killed when Iraqi planes bombed ISIS positions west of Tharthar in the embattled western province of Anbar on Wednesday, the Iraqi National Security Service said in a statement.
Scores of militants were also injured in the aerial assault, and a large number of bombs and armored vehicles were destroyed, it added.
Separately, government forces and tribal fighters captured several senior ISIS members, mostly of Syrian nationality, during an operation in the town of Barwanah northwest of Baghdad.
The self-proclaimed ISIS war minister, identified as Samer Mohammad Matloub Hussein al- Mahlawi, was also killed along with three aides in an Iraqi bombing in the town.
Scores of ISIS militants were killed in the Jebel Makhoul region north of Tikrit in an offensive by security forces and fighters from allied Popular Mobilization units.
Elsewhere, in the Albu Issa district in Anbar Province, Iraqi security forces stormed a militant hideout and killed seven ISIS Takfiris.
The northern and western parts of Iraq have been plagued by violence ever since ISIS began an offensive in Iraqi territory in June 2014.
Army soldiers and Popular Mobilization units have joined forces and are seeking to take back militant-held regions in joint operations, Press TV reported.
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