Iraqi army kills 40 ISIS fighters in Fallujah

The Iraqi armed forces, working with tribal fighters in Anbar province killed 40 fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), destroyed weapons and seized four ISIS headquarters in the city of Fallujah this week.

According to a statement by the Iraqi Defense Ministry, the 39th Brigade of the Iraqi army, reinforced by the Iraqi air force, took part in the operation.

Al Arabiya News Channel’s correspondent reported on Friday that the Iraqi air force had targeted ISIS fighters in the city of Ramadi, in Anbar.

Sources speaking to the correspondent stated that the fighters had fled earlier from the al-Bofaraj area of Anbar, where security forces had launched an operation on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced that his country refuses to arm “terrorists” in Syria, while Iraqi forces managed to regain control of some of the areas that were seized by ISIS fighters in Anbar province to the west of Baghdad.

Since December 2013, Iraqi forces, along with the police and tribal forces, have been battling to regain control over areas in Anbar, which shares a 300 kilometer border with Syria.

Parts of Ramadi and Fallujah have been held by militants for weeks, harkening back to the years after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion when both cities in Anbar province were insurgent strongholds.