27 IS militants killed in airstrikes in western Iraq

Another airstrike destroyed an IS post in the city of Aana, some 180 km northwest of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, killing six militants, Zoubaie said. (Photo: OCHA/ Wikipedia)

BAGHDAD –A total of 27 Islamic State (IS) militants were killed in airstrikes by international coalition against IS posts in IS-held areas in Iraq’s western province of Anbar on Sunday, an Iraqi army source said.

According to intelligence reports, the U.S.-led coalition aircraft conducted an airstrike on an internet cafe used by IS militants as a headquarters in the town of al-Qaim near the border with Syria, leaving some 20 of them killed, Nouman al-Zoubaie, commander of the army’s 7th Division, told Xinhua.

Another airstrike destroyed an IS post in the city of Aana, some 180 km northwest of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, killing six militants, Zoubaie said.

In addition, an international airstrike bombed a booby-trapped vehicle and killed its driver, he added.

In a separate incident, a booby-trapped car detonated at a busy intersection in Karrada district in central Baghdad, leaving a civilian killed and five others wounded, a local police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The airstrikes in western Iraq and Baghdad car bombing came as the Iraqi security forces, backed by anti-IS international coalition, are carrying out a major offensive to drive out IS militants from their major stronghold in the western side of Mosul in northern Iraq.