ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – At least 210 people in Iraq’s Anbar province, held captive by the Islamic State group (ISIS) last year were rescued by Iraqi forces and reunited with their families, the Iraqi military said Monday.
Several ISIS militants also were killed in clashes with the Iraqi forces that were trying to free the hostages.
A statement by the military said that the operation took place in southern Anbar province. It said the captives were from 70 different families and that they had been returned to their tribes.
ISIS seized the Anbar capital of Ramadi on May 17, in what was considered one of the jihadists’ most important victories, since majority Sunni Anbar is Iraq’s largest province.
The Iraqi government began a military campaign against the militants in Anbar on July 13, vowing it would continue until the province is entirely cleared of the militants.
In September, the militants destroyed the key al-Boshjal bridge to stop the advance of Iraqi forces. The Anbar provincial council has asked the Iraqi military to help rescue imprisoned Anbar residents, warning that ISIS might want to use them as human shields.
ISIS is in control of about a third of Iraq since launching a lightning offensive in June last year.
