US, allies target Islamic State with 23 strike in Syria and Iraq

Militant fighters of the Islamic State group (IS/ISIS) bombed the Olympic Stadium in al-Bujileeb area in the countryside of Iraq’s Ramadi, pro-IS media sources reported on Sunday. The ninth strike was near the militant stronghold if Raqqa, it said. It said the death toll was likely to rise because numerous wounded suffered critical injuries.

Twitter and Facebook accounts affiliated with “IS” said 26 people were killed and around 100 wounded in the attacks. The airstrikes often result in civilian casualties.

Iraqi army Colonel Ahmed al-Delimi, for his part, said that U.S.-led coalition warplanes had struck ISIL positions on the outskirts of Fallujah city and the Al-Saqallawiyah sub-district, leaving 21 fighters dead and two armored vehicles destroyed. The Turkey-funded stadium, near the militant-held city of Ramadi, had never been used for sports.

Yahya Abdul-Rasul, the defense ministry spokesman told Rudaw that the army and local security forces are engaged in close combat with ISIS militants near Anbar University in Western Ramadi.

Other reports say the stadium, which had a capacity of 30,000, was empty of security and military forces-they vacated the stadium a “few days ago”.

The officials spoke anonymously as they are not authorized to brief journalists. A U.S.-led coalition has been conducting intense airstrikes in Anbar in an effort to help the Iraqi government regain control of the long-volatile province.

The US military said on July 18 that it had attacked IS and its military sites near the cities of Tal Afar and Ramadi the previous day.