Thousands evacuated as Iraqi forces advance against IS

Iraqi forces retook a town from the Islamic State jihadist group in Anbar province Thursday and evacuated 10,000 civilians as they advanced up the Euphrates valley, a security spokesman said.
“Counter-terrorism forces and army troops liberated the Zankura area in a swift military operation,” Sabah al-Noman, spokesman of the elite Counter-Terrorism Service, told AFP.
“They evacuated 10,000 people who were transferred to a safe area,” he said.

An army colonel in the region said they would be offered first aid and then taken to camps for displaced people.
Noman claimed 80 IS fighters were killed in the operation but gave no figure for casualties in government ranks.
“Our forces also arrested 56 Daesh (IS) members who had shaved their beards and were trying to blend in with the fleeing families,” the spokesman said.


AFP