Kirkuk (Iraqinews.com) – Over 90 Islamic State (IS) militants have been killed in Kirkuk as security forces continue launching manhunts nationwide in search of dormant IS cells, a well-placed security official was quoted as saying Tuesday.

“As part of ongoing efforts to track down IS cells, Iraqi troops managed to kill over 90 IS militants and destroyed at least 100 terrorist hotbeds in different security operations in southwestern Kirkuk,” Commander of the 16th brigade of al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) Nabil Eissa al-Beshiry told Knooz Media.

“The anti-IS security operations have achieved good results so far,” he said, citing the killing of five IS militants, including three foreigners, in the province Monday.

Beshiry stressed that Iraqi troops will continue to hunt for dormant IS cells nationwide to protect the country from their threat.

Iraq declared the collapse of Islamic State’s territorial influence in November with the recapture of Rawa, a city on Anbar’s western borders with Syria, which was the group’s last bastion in Iraq.

The Islamic State group appeared on the international scene in 2014 when it seized large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria, declaring the establishment of an Islamic “caliphate” from Mosul city.

Despite the group’s crushing defeat at its main havens across Iraq, Islamic State continues to launch sporadic attacks against troops with security reports warning that the militant group still poses a threat against stability in the country.







</s>Kirkuk (Iraqinews.com) – Pro-government troops launched in the wee hours of Monday a military operation in al-Hawija district in Kirkuk, managing to kill five foreign militants of the Islamic State group, a military source was quoted as saying.

Speaking to Baghdad Today, the source said: “A force from al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) 16th brigade launched a manhunt for IS militants in al-Humayra village in Hawija, southwest of Kirkuk.”

“Five foreign IS insurgents were killed in the operation,” according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared last October that Iraqi troops recaptured Hawija, a main town held by Islamic State in the country.

The town had fallen to IS in June 2014, when the militant group seized control of much of northern and western Iraq and proclaimed the creation of a self-styled “caliphate”.

There, Islamic State’s reign forced thousands to flee to refugee camps, while hundreds had been executed by the group for attempting to escape the area or contacting security forces.

The offensive on Hawija began on 21 September and has involved army, police and special forces units, as well as the Shia-led paramilitary Popular Mobilization Forces.

Despite the victory over IS in the city, observers say IS is believed to constitute a security threat even after the group’s defeat at its main havens across Iraqi provinces.</s>BAGHDAD, April 10 (Reuters) - Iraq will take "all the necessary measures" to prevent cross-border attacks by Islamic State militants in Syria, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Tuesday.

Last year Iraqi warplanes carried out at least one strike on Islamic State targets inside Syria, in coordination with the U.S.-led anti-Islamic State coalition and with the approval of the Syrian government.

"Daesh are present in eastern Syria, at the Iraqi border. I will take all necessary measures if they threaten the security Iraq," Abadi told a news conference in Baghdad. He said he had communicated this position to U.S President Donald Trump on the telephone on Sunday.

He said he had asked the country's military command "to lay out all possible plans, as I am keen to protect Iraqi citizens" from cross-border attacks.

An expert close to the Baghdad government told Reuters last week that Iraq may carry out special forces operations against Islamic State militants in Syria.

While troops could be dropped into Syria, the plan did not at this stage involve sending ground forces over the border, Hisham al-Hashimi, who advises several governments on Islamic State, including Iraq's, told Reuters.

Iraq has good relations with Iran and Russia, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's main backers in the seven-year Syrian civil war, while it also has strong support from the U.S.-led coalition.

Abadi declared victory over Islamic State within Iraq in December, although the militants have continued to carry out ambushes, assassinations and bombings across the country.

U.S.-backed Iraqi forces dislodged the militants from Mosul, their de facto capital in the north of the country, putting an end to the cross-border "caliphate" they declared in 2014.

Special forces from a number of countries already operate in Syria, including the United States, Russia and Iran. Turkey has also sent in ground forces to push Kurdish fighters away from its border. (Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli, editing by Larry King and Hugh Lawson)</s>Footage shared by an Iraqi journalist on November 6 showed Islamic State fighters fleeing al-Qaim city after the Iraqi forces recapture the city.The footage shows what is described as Islamic State fighters boarding vehicles and driving towards the last IS-held city in Iraq, Rawa, which is located around 50 miles west of al-Qaim. The footage also shows Rawa where the IS flag can be seen flying over the main square in the city.Iraqi forces captured al-Qaim city on November 3. Credit: Facebook/Abather Altamimi via Storyful</s>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and Iraq have banished a senior Islamic State finance official from their financial systems, the U.S. Treasury Department said on Tuesday.

The U.S. Treasury named Salim Mustafa Muhammad al-Mansur, a finance official for the Islamic militant group, as a "specially designated global terrorist," a move that freezes any property he might have in the United States and bars Americans from dealing with him.

 Iraq's government also barred Mansur from its financial system and froze any assets under its jurisdiction, Treasury said. Islamic State, also called ISIS, seized large swathes of Iraq in 2014 in a bid to establish an Islamic "caliphate," but has since lost territory in a U.S.-backed campaign against the group.

 "Treasury continues to work in close collaboration with the Government of Iraq to dismantle ISIS financial networks both inside and outside of ISIS-controlled territory," said John E. Smith, director of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which enforces sanctions. 

 In 2014, Mansur helped transfer hundreds of thousands of Iraqi dinars to Islamic State in Mosul, and then helped launder and transfer money for the group and sold oil it extracted from Iraq and Syria, Treasury said.

 As of early this year, Mansur had moved to Turkey but was still serving as an Islamic State finance official for Mosul, Iraq, Treasury said.

 

 (Reporting by Yeganeh Torbati; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)</s>Diyala (IraqiNews.com) The pro-government paramilitary troops have repulsed an attack launched by Islamic State members in Diyala province, a security source was quoted saying on Tuesday.

Speaking to Almaalomah website, the source said, “two vehicles carrying some Islamic State members attempted infiltration into Udhaim region, before al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) noticed them and repelled the attack.”

The troops, according to the source, “managed to burn the two vehicles killing those on board.”

On Wednesday, news reports quoted sources as saying that Iraqi troops killed Abu Nabil al-Iraqi, the mastermind of several terrorist attacks launched by Islamic State, and seven of his aides in a military operation in northeastern Diyala. A-Iraqi used to provide the militant group with financial and logistic support to target security forces in Diyala.

Thousands of IS militants as well as Iraqi civilians were killed since the government campaign, backed by paramilitary troops and the coalition, was launched in October 2016 to fight the militant group.

In December, Abadi announced full liberation of Iraqi lands, declaring end of war against IS members. However, Islamic State continues to launch sporadic attacks across Iraq against troops. Security reports indicate that the militant group still poses threat against stability in the country.
An al-Hashd al-Shaabi commander announces the deaths of 90 Islamic State members in Kirkut, Iraq.