8 Iraqi troops killed in clashes with Daesh militants

By Ibrahim Salih

BAGHDAD (AA) – At least eight Iraqi troops have been killed in clashes with Daesh militants in western and northern Iraq.

Police officer Ahmed al-Duleimi said that Iraqi forces engaged in fierce clashes late Tuesday with Daesh militants in southern Fallujah, where a military offensive is underway to retake the western city from the terrorist group.

“Seven police forces were killed and 19 others injured in the clashes,” he told Anadolu Agency.

Last month, Iraqi forces, backed by U.S.-led coalition warplanes, launched an offensive to retake Fallujah, which was overrun by Daesh in early 2014.

On Tuesday, Iraqi officials said that army forces and volunteer fighters have managed to capture the Fallujah dam, which was overrun by the Daesh group in early 2014.

Meanwhile, a senior military commander was killed in a suicide bombing in southern Mosul, according to the joint operations command.

Brigadier-general Badr al-Lahebi was killed when a Daesh bomber detonated his vehicle as Iraqi forces were advancing into the al-Nasr village in southern Mosul, army officer Nafez al-Jabouri told Anadolu Agency.

Iraq has suffered from a devastating security vacuum since mid-2014, when Daesh seized Mosul and overran large swathes of territory in the northern and western parts of the country.

According to the UN, more than 3.4 million people are now displaced countrywide -- more than half of them children -- while more than 10 million are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance.

*Anadolu Agency correspondent Mohamed Sabry from Egypt contributed to this report