On Sept. 10, the US-led coalition dropped over 36,000 kilograms of bombs on Islamic State positions on an island in an Iraqi river, the US-led coalition spokesperson said on Tuesday, adding that it was done “to disrupt Daesh [Islamic State] the ability to hide in the thick vegetation.”
Read More: US-led coalition drops 36,000 kg of bombs on ‘ISIS-infested island’ in Iraq
According to a statement from the US Central Command (CENTCOM), the airstrikes were part of an operation by the US-led coalition and the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service against Islamic State positions in Qanus Island, located in Iraq’s Salahuddin province.
Yahya Rasoul, a spokesperson for the Iraqi army, said that such operations aim to prevent cross-border movement of Islamic State members between Syria and Iraq.
Despite nearly two years having passed since Baghdad declared a final victory over the Islamic State, the group continues to conduct attacks in areas it once controlled, embarking on a wave of kidnappings, assassinations, and bombings that have raised fears of a new stage of heightened insurgency.
Early on Friday, three farmers were wounded when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off under a tractor in the disputed district of Jalawla, located in Diyala province not far from Hamrin Lake.
Read More: Separate blasts in Iraq's disputed territories kill 1, wound 4
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the blast, but the area has seen multiple similar attacks claimed by the Islamic State.
Editing by John J. Catherine