ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Fighters with the Islamic State have responded to a wave of crippling coalition airstrikes targeting the Mekhmour front by exploding two oil fields in the area. Iraqi army’s officer Juma Osman told Rudaw the ISIS fighters exploded two oil fields in the village of Khataba, aiming to hide their forces in the smoke from further airstrikes. “Coalition aircrafts are targeting key positions in the region, leaving ISIS with heavy losses,” the source said. On Saturday morning, coalition forces launched a series of attacks against ISIS fighters in Mekhmour and the Gyarah region of Mosul province where prominent leader Abu- Talut Tunisi was reported killed along with at least 80 more ISIS fighters.
