Carnage at Tikrit Wedding; 178 Killed in Iraq

Updated at 11:09 p.m. EST, March 9, 2017

Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has reportedly left the Mosul theater.

Badush prison, where hundreds if not thousands of inmates have been executed, was captured on Wednesday.

The retaken antiquities museum in Mosul is a scene of utter destruction. Crushed statues, burnt manuscripts, and other ancient artifacts lie ruined. Elsewhere, authorities discovered several ancient carvings in a captured tunnel used by the militants. The previously unknown artifacts may be part of a temple or palace that the militants have accidentally found.

The U.S. government is considering sending 1,000 troops to Kuwait as a reserve force to fight ISIS/Daesh.

Over 72,000 people have fled western Mosul now.

At least 178 were killed and 63 more were wounded:

Four suicide bombers killed 30 people and wounded about 63 more in Hajjaj.

In Kirkuk, a police officer was shot dead.

In Mosul, the morgue received 90 bodies. Security forces killed 10 militants. A militant commander was killed. Another militant official was killed.

Security forces killed 30 militants at Badush prison.

Ten militants were killed in Rawah.

A suicide bomber was killed in Mandali.

Author: Margaret Griffis

Margaret Griffis is a journalist from Miami Beach, Florida and has been covering Iraqi casualties for Antiwar.com since 2006.