ISIL Suffers More Setbacks in Iraq; Iraqi Army Prepares for Al-Heet Counter-Offensive

Zionist-backed takfiri terrorist group ISIL suffered a severe blow in Al-Anbar Governorate, when the U.S. Air Force attacked a large ISIS convoy heading towards Brigade 49, killing 46 militants, including the ISIL Spokesman in Iraq, Abu Mohammad Al-‘Adnani. Al-‘Adnani’s convoy was attacked in the Al-Anbar district of Al-Kaim; he was considered one of Sheikh ‘Ibrahim Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi’s top aides in Iraq before his death.

In the southern Baghdad Governorate, the Iraqi Army’s 17th Brigade thwarted an ISIL infiltration attempt at a checkpoint in the Al-Latafiyah District. 11 ISIS militants dressed as members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) attempted to breach an Iraqi Army checkpoint; the suspects were snuffed out immediately. Failing to provide proper identification, an armed confrontation ensued between the 17th Brigade and the ISIS militants; this resulted in the death of all 11 fighters – 3 ISF soldiers were also wounded during the clashes.

Elsewhere, 2,000 tribal fighters have arrived in the ‘Ayn As’ad to support the embattled Iraqi Army on the outskirts of Al-Heet. The Iraqi Army is preparing for a counter-offensive against the ISIS militants who currently control the village of Al-Heet; the arrival of the 2,000 tribal fighters should boost the morale of the forces loyal to the Iraqi Government.

An Anti-ISIL Coalition airstrike killed the ISIL leader in the Salahiddeen Province, Amir Hussein Al-Hafezh. Al-Hafezh led all operations in the Salahiddeen Province, including the capture of Tikrit earlier this year; his loss during the Iraqi Army’s offensive in southern Tikrit will create issues for the entrenched ISIS militants.