Half of ISIL leaders killed in Iraq: Iraqi commander

Fri Oct 17, 2014 9:50PM

A senior Iraqi army commander has said over half of the top ISIL terrorist leaders in Iraq have been killed during the last four months.

The commander of the Tigris Operations, Lieutenant General Abdul Amir al-Zaidi, said on Friday that during a successful pre-emptive operation, Iraqi forces killed over 50 percent of the ISIL militants’ senior leaders in Diyala province.
He also emphasized that police, civilian forces and Iraqi tribesmen lead an important role in fighting the Takfiri terrorist group.
The Iraqi commander went on to say that the ISIL has lost most of its bases in Diyala province and that the few regions under the control of the terrorists in the province will be liberated soon.
Earlier on Friday, the Iraqi army backed by volunteer forces launched a mop-up operation against the ISIL Takfiri militants in the north of the capital Baghdad.
Reports say government forces and the Takfiri terrorists are also engaged in heavy fighting in other provinces in the north and west of the country.
Troops supported by Shia and Sunni tribal fighters have also gained ground in Nineveh province.
According to the United Nations, over 1,110 people were killed in acts of violence across Iraq in September.
The ISIL terrorists have been committing heinous crimes in the captured areas, including mass executions and beheading of people.
The ISIL militants received training to use light and heavy weapons with the help of the US government at a secret base in Jordan in 2012, informed Jordanian officials say.
SRK/MAM/MHB