At least 33 militants of the Islamic State (ISIS) Sunni radical group have died on Monday in the Iraqi city of Mosul and the surrounding area, including a leader who was responsible for the sale of kidnapped Yazidi women.
A spokesman for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Ghayath al-Surji, told Efe news agency that 20 jehadis were killed early Monday in clashes with the Peshmerga Kurdish forces in Ba’shiqah Mountain, 14 km northeast of Mosul.
The fighting lasted over four hours and was triggered after ISIS members attacked a Peshmerga position, according to al-Surji, who did not specify whether the Kurdish forces suffered casualties.
After these clashes, international coalition aircraft hit IS posts in Ba’shiqah, where large plumes of smoke rose in the air, but there was no immediate report of casualties.
Iraqi troops retake 2 towns in eastern province
Baghdad: Iraqi troops backed by Shiite militiamen and Kurdish security forces have recaptured two eastern towns from Islamic State militants after fierce clashes, Iraqi officials said on Monday. Police officials in the Diyala province said that Iraqi forces entered the towns of Saadiya and Jalula late Sunday after fierce clashes with fighters from the Sunni extremist group, which controls much of northwestern Iraq and northeastern Syria.