At least 43 ISIL militants were killed and 38 others injured in airstrikes in South of Tikrit, as the Iraqi forces intensified their offensive on the Takfiri group.
The Iraqi warplanes hit the positions of the ISIL in Balad district, and managed to kill and injure dozens of Takfiri militants.
Also yesterday, the Iraqi fighter jets bombed the positions of the terrorist group in AlbuAgel area in Yathrib, leaving 25 militants dead and a number of their vehicles destroyed.
The ISIL Takfiri terrorists have threatened all communities, as they continue their atrocities in Iraq.
Senior Iraqi officials have blamed Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and some Gulf Arab states for the growing terrorism in their country.
The ISIL has links with Saudi intelligence and is believed to be indirectly supported by the Israeli regime.
Hagel in Iraq to Review anti-ISIL War
On the other hand,US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel arrived in Baghdad on Tuesday for an unannounced visit to review the war against the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant terrorist group.
Hagel, who is due to step down from office shortly, is to be briefed by US military commanders and hold talks with his Iraqi counterpart as well as Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.
Soon after he landed, Hagel spoke to a group of US and Australian troops and thanked them for their efforts. He told them the United States and its allies “can help the Iraqis in their fight against ISIL” but that the outcome of the campaign would ultimately depend on the Baghdad government.
“It’s their country, they’re going to have to lead,” he said. “The Iraqi leadership will need to build an inclusive government that wins the trust of all the country’s religious and ethnic communities, he said.
FNA, Al- Manar News
R.S