Islamic State fighters News

“All Iraqi lands are liberated from terrorist Daesh gangs,” the army said.

As a result of an air strike more than 60 foreign mercenaries from the former Soviet Union, Tunisia, and Egypt were killed south of Deir Ezzor.

Two days of aerial bombardment in al-Mayadin have now killed a total of 50 people.

Six weeks into a major offensive, Iraqi forces have captured nearly half of eastern Mosul, moving from district to district against jihadist snipers, suicide attackers and car bombs.

Iraqi security forces on Monday recaptured six villages in southeast and north of the city of Mosul, while special forces continued heavy clashes with the Islamic State (IS) terrorists to clear the districts freed earlier from the terrorists in the eastern part of the city, a security source said.

Islamic State fighters forced thousands of civilians to retreat with them from Hamam al-Alil as Iraqi police were recapturing the town, and moved them towards Mosul airport, the UN said Tuesday.

The pilots "had used up all their ammunition and were on their way back when they came under the fire of terrorists and crashed," the defence ministry said, adding: "The crew died."

The United States said it was "appalled" by Syrian government air strikes that killed more than 30 people - including children -- in a key rebel bastion east of the capital of Damascus.

The ISIS' recent defeats signify its worsening money problems, desertions and a dwindling pool of fighters with many of them joining rival terror groups after facing pay cuts, according to a media report.

Terrified families waved white flags as they emerged from homes reduced to rubble in the Iraqi city of Ramadi, where government troops were still battling Islamic State fighters holed up on Friday, five days after the army recaptured the city centre.

Abu Azrael has more than 50,000 followers in a Facebook page dedicated to him.