Shiite militia claims ISIS leader killed near Fallujah

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Shiite militias fighting near the Fallujah district of Garma in Anbar province claim they killed an ISIS leader and five of his deputies.

“In the fight against ISIS in the sub-district of Garma east of Fallujah, Hatam Shahada, known as Abu Mosab Muhajir, was killed along with 20 other militants and two of the killed militants hold foreign IDs,” Brigadier General Mahmoud Marzi, a Hashd al-Shaabi commander, told news agencies on Tuesday.

Also called Popular Mobilization Units or PMUs, the Hashd al-Shaabi are volunteer Shiite militias who have sworn to fight the Sunni ISIS.  

Marzi added that Iraqi joint forces consisting of the Hashd al-Shaabi, the Badr Organization and Sunni tribal regiments have been locked in an intense battle with ISIS in Garma.

Sunni-majority Fallujah, 69 kilometers west of Baghdad, has been under ISIS control since last summer. The city has been besieged by the Iraqi Army, which has been continuously shelling the city to weaken the extremists.