A plan overseen by "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to target Baghdad and the southern provinces has been thwarted, the Joint Iraqi Operations Command said Friday (August 5th).
The plan, which ISIL dubbed the "Great Baghdad Conquest", involved numerous vehicles packed with explosives and suicide bombers, the command said in a statement.
Four airstrikes were carried out on ISIL targets, the statement said, after the Falcons Intelligence Cell gathered accurate information about the targets.
“F-16s launched successful air strikes targeting these sites, especially in al-Qaim, al-Karabla, and near the Modern Market, killing 18 terrorists, including 11 suicide bombers, and wounding three others, including two seriously,” the statement said.
Those killed included foreign nationals, former al-Qaeda operatives, and former members of the Iraqi regime, the statement explained.