Seven IS leaders, including top security chief killed in airstrike in Kirkuk

Seven Islamic State leaders, including a top security chief, were killed as U.S.-led Coalition jets bombarded the group’s holdout, southwest of Kirkuk, a local source said. “Coalition jets bombarded an IS location, where several leaders were there, in Hawija”, the source told AlSumaria News. “Preliminary information indicate death of around seven leaders including member in charge of securing the group’s leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi”. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source added that the airstrike left several vehicles and tactic units of the group destroyed. Earlier on the day, the Defense Ministry’s War Media Cell said 557 IS militants were killed, while more than 100 villages and regions were liberated during the first phase of offensives in Hawija.