Iraq

Spokesman of CTS Sabah al-Numan told the official Iraqi News Agency (INA) on Sunday that the commandos, backed by aircraft, carried out several security operations in June, killing 13 IS militants and arresting many others, in addition to the destruction of some caves and hideouts.

A statement by the media office of the Iraqi Ministry of Oil said the IS militants on Wednesday blew up two oil wells and set them ablaze in the Bai Hassan oil field in the al-Dibis area northwest of the namesake provincial capital Kirkuk, some 250 km north of the capital Baghdad, reports Xinhua news agency. The attack resulted in the killing and wounding of some security forces, the statement added, without giving further details.

Five rockets struck Balad airbase, north of Baghdad, the military media centre added in a statement, DPA news agency reported. Two rockets fell into the airbase, injuring two soldiers, one of them seriously, chief of the facility Diaa Mohsen told Iraq's official news agency INA.

A statement by the media office of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command said that the rockets landed at 12:15 p.m. local time (0915 GMT) at the edge of Balad airbase, some 90 km north of Baghdad, without causing casualties, the Xinhua news agency reported. The rockets were fired from al-Dojama, an area located across the Tigris River in the neighbouring Diyala province, the statement said, adding that the airbase houses Iraqi jet fighters.

According to the official, the Iraqi authorities have great difficulty in protecting archaeological sites in Iraq as the country is "like a museum", where "thousands of archaeological sites spread widely across its land from north to south".

During the meeting on Wednesday, the Iranian President praised the potential of the economic cooperation between the two countries, and set a goal of $20 billion for bilateral trade. Rouhani said Tehran opposes any foreign intervention in Iraq's internal affairs.

During the past week, the municipality of Mosul has been removing the rubble of dozens of devastated buildings on the bank of the Tigris River in the Ras al-Kour neighborhood in the city's old city centre, Brigadier General Hussam Khalil from the Civil Defence said. Khalil added that the 23 decomposed corpses werebelieved to be IS terrorists who were killed during the battles to liberate the city in mid-2017, Khalil said.

Taking to Twitter on Thursday, Al-Kadhimni said that Abu Yasir al-Eisawi, the group's deputy leader and head of the IS militants in Iraq, was killed in the operation which was conducted based on intelligence reports, reports Xinhua news agency.

The rocket attack took place late on Friday night, Xinhua news agency quoted the media office of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command as saying in a statement. The Katyusha rockets landed outside the airport, the statement added.

A suicide bomber blew up his explosive belt in a crowded market in Bab al-Sharji area, and a second one detonated his a few minutes later in the same market. Ambulances and civilian cars have evacuated the wounded to nearby hospitals and medical centres.