96 ISIL Takfiri militants slain in Iraqi army airstrikes

Nearly 100 Takfiri ISIL terrorists, including several militant commanders, have been killed in separate operations by the Iraqi air force in the country’s crisis-hit western province of Anbar.

According to a statement released by the Iraqi Interior Ministry on Saturday, a total of 43 ISIL extremists were killed when Iraqi aircraft carried out precision strikes against terrorist hideouts in the town of al-Qa’im, located nearly 400 kilometers northwest of the capital, Baghdad, over the past two days, Arabic-language al-Forat news agency reported.

The statement further said that scores of ISIL Takfiris also sustained injuries in the aerial attacks.

Separately, Iraqi military aircraft bombarded ISIL hideouts all across Anbar Province, killing a large number of the Takfiris and destroying their vehicles.

Meanwhile, the Iraqi Defense Ministry announced that 30 ISIL militants were killed when Iraqi fighter jets pounded the terrorists’ positions in the town of Hit, located about 140 kilometers (85 miles) west of Baghdad.

Iraqi warplanes also carried out air strikes against ISIL bases in the city of Haditha, situated about 240 kilometers (150 miles) northwest of the capital, killing as many as 23 ISIL extremists in the process.

Gruesome violence has plagued the northern and western parts of Iraq ever since ISIL launched an offensive in June 2014, and took control of portions of Iraqi territory.

The Takfiri group has been committing heinous crimes against all ethnic and religious groups in Iraq, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds and Christians and others.

Units of army soldiers coupled with volunteer fighters are seeking to win back militant-held regions in joint operations.

Iraqi government troopers together with fighters from allied Popular Mobilization units have launched a major operation to take back the troubled western province of Anbar from Takfiri ISIL militants. Brigadier General Yahya Rasool, the spokesman for the Joint Operations Command, said in a televised statement that the offensive to retake the embattled province started at dawn on July 13.