Hashd Al-Shaabi Forces Repulse Daesh Offensive in Iraq’s Anbar
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), also known as Hashd al-Shaabi, repelled a major attack by Daesh (ISIL or ISIS) terrorists in the western Anbar province, killing a large number of the militants.
Scores of Daesh terrorists were killed on Monday after their attempt to sneak into al-Siniyah district near Haditha, Anbar Province, was foiled by the Hashd al-Shaabi forces, Iraqi News website reported on Tuesday.
“Al-Hashd al-Shaabi managed to foil an attack launched by 100 members of ISIS, using large numbers of vehicles, on the forces from the army’s 6th brigade and 51st brigade in Haditha,” a statement by the PMU read.
It added that several of the terrorists’ vehicles were destroyed in the clashes.
It came as Iraqi forces prepare to expand their offensive against Daesh from east to west Mosul.
On October 16, 2016, the Iraqi army backed by Federal Police and Hashd al-Shaabi launched the massive operation to retake Mosul.
In recent years, Iraq has been facing the threat of terrorism, mainly posed by the Daesh terrorist group.
Daesh militants made swift advances in much of northern and western Iraq over the summer of 2014, after capturing large swaths of northern Syria.
However, a combination of concentrated attacks by the Iraqi military and the volunteer forces, who rushed to take arms after top Iraqi cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani issued a fatwa calling for fight against the militants, blunted the edge of Daesh offensive and later forced the Takfiri group to withdraw from most of the areas it had occupied.
