Iraqi forces launched an operation against the Islamic State militants in the desert areas of Anbar, Nineveh, and Salah ad Din provinces. At least 77 villages were captured during the first day.
A spokesman for the Harakat Hezbollah al Nujaba, one of the militias fighting within the Popular Mobilization Forces, said the group has promised to give up its heavy weapons once ISIS/Daesh is defeated.
At least 15 people were killed or found dead, and four were wounded:
A P.U.K. leader was shot dead and his son was wounded in Khanaqin. Hussein Mohammed Maarouf was killed was returning to his home in the Qulai district. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan is one of the political parties in Kurdistan.
In Baghdad, a bomb killed one person and wounded three others.
A bomb killed a militia commander in the Hamrin Hills.
In Mosul, seven militants were killed.
Three militants blew themselves up near the Syrian border.
In Nineveh, two militants were killed.
