Coalition airstrike in W. Iraq kills 18 Daesh militants

By Suleiman al-Qubaisi and Osman al-Shalash

BAGHDAD

At least 18 Daesh militants were killed by a U.S.-led coalition airstrike in western Iraq near the border with Syria, an Iraqi army commander said Wednesday.

Coalition warplanes struck a Daesh concentration in the town of Al-Qaim (located some 350 kilometers west of Ramadi, regional capital of Iraq’s western Anbar province), Army Major-General Qasim al-Mohamadi told Anadolu Agency.

"The strike left 18 militants dead and destroyed two Daesh vehicles," he said.

Coalition warplanes have continued to pound Daesh positions in northern and western Iraq in recent weeks in support of a three-month-old Iraqi army offensive aimed at recapturing the city of Mosul from the Daesh terrorist group.

In a related development, three members of the Hashd al-Shaabi Shia militia group were killed in separate attacks by Daesh in Iraq’s northern Saladin province.

According to Ghazwan al-Jabouri, an Iraqi army officer, another six militiamen were injured in the attacks.

Established three years ago, the Hashd al-Shaabi is an umbrella of pro-government Shia fighting groups drawn up specifically to fight Daesh.

Last December, Iraqi President Fuad Masum approved legislation calling for the Hashd al-Shaabi’s incorporation into the Iraqi armed forces.