Last October, after weeks of bitter combat , some 1,400 “Islamic State” (IS) fighters turned themselves in, expediting Hawija’s liberation. In a series of operations, the Iraqi army swept through the region to clear any remaining pockets of IS fighters. In response, the Iraqi army recently staged a nine-day operation in an effort to smoke them out. “The only thing they have in common is their enemy: the Iraqi army. The villagers, many of whose people work for the Iraqi army, police or government, suffered terribly under IS rule.

Source: Egypt Independent January 29, 2018 08:37 UTC