Islamic State’s operations official killed in air raid in Diyala borders

A senior Islamic State leader was killed in an airstrike on a group location on the borders between Diyala and Salahuddin provinces, a local official said Thursday.

Sadeq al-Husseini, head of the security committee at Diyala province council, told Alsumaria news that Islamic State’s so-called “operations official”, Abu Ahmad al-Tarrak, was killed along with eight other companions in an air raid on Mutaibija, an area on the borders with Salahuddin that has been a hotspot for islamic State activity.

Husseini said Tarrak was a top IS leader who had for long been on the intelligence services’ targets list.

Violence and armed conflicts killed and wounded more than 500 Iraqis throughout July, according to a monthly count by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI).

Islamic State militants have launched occasional attacks against security forces and civilians in Diyala over the past few months, coinciding with government operations that managed to recapture the city of Mosul, Islamic State’s largest bastion in Iraq.

Done with Mosul, the government and military commanders intend to wage further offensives at other IS havens across the country, including Diyala, seeking to mark an end to the sel-proclaimed “caliphate” declared by the group back in 2014.

Source: Iraqi News