“The Army’s intelligence forces have confirmed the death of the [Daesh] military commander of al-Sharqat and al-Alam areas, identified as Abu Qatada, during a missile strike that targeted the headquarters of [Daesh] in Salahuddin Province,” Iraqi News website cited a statement released by the Iraqi Ministry of Defense on Wednesday.
The statement added that twelve Abu Qatada’s comrades were also killed during the strike.
The development comes as Iraq’s armed forces backed by volunteers have completely liberated the eastern province of Diyala from the Daesh.
Staff Lieutenant General Abdulamir al-Zaidi announced the liberation of Diyala from Daesh on Monday and said the Iraqi forces had managed to retake all populated areas from the terrorist group.
Meanwhile, Iraqi armed forces have made preparations for the launch of a large-scale military operation in the city of Ramadi to flush out Daesh.
