Airstrikes kill dozens of Daesh militants in N. Iraq

By Ali Jawad and Mohamed Walid

BAGHDAD (AA) - Dozens of Daesh terrorists were killed in Iraqi airstrikes in northern Iraq on Saturday, according to the country’s defense ministry.

Iraqi warplanes struck Daesh positions in the predominantly Turkmen city of Tal Afar, killing 21 terrorists and destroying four vehicles, the ministry said in a statement.

Another raid killed 17 Daesh terrorists and destroyed six boats in western Mosul, the ministry said.

In another development, Iraqi police commander Fadel al-Mehrab said a Daesh attack had been repelled southwest of Tal Afar.

“Five Daesh militants were killed and two motorbikes destroyed during the attack,” he told Anadolu Agency.

The Iraqi army, backed by U.S.-led coalition warplanes, is currently engaged in a massive offensive to recapture Mosul, the country’s second largest city, from Daesh.

The terrorist organization has overrun Mosul -- along vast swathes of territory in northern and western Iraq -- in 2014.