US: 1,000 Islamic State group fighters killed since 2014

The US-led international coalition against the Islamic State group (IS) has killed 1,000 IS fighters in Iraq since the operations began last year, coalition spokesperson Colonel Steve Warren told Baghdad reporters on Tuesday.

"Two of the most dangerous IS leaders were among those killed recently," the spokesperson said, adding that 50 percent of the coalition's airstrikes target the city of Ramadi.

Warren also said that the liberation of Anbar in Iraq was a top priority for the coalition, followed by Raqqa in Syria.

In addition, the coalition spokesperson confirmed that 116 fuel trucks used by IS to generate income for its operations had been destroyed as part of targeting the group's financial resources.

"The coalition's military operations have defeated IS in Sinjar, in cooperarion with Peshmerga and Iraqi forces," the spokesperson said, "and they have cut off IS's reinforcements in Mosul."

"Fighting IS in north Iraq is easier, as the area is more open than Anbar, where IS fighters can hide."

According to Warren, the US has provided Iraq with military assistance and ammunition to fight IS.

A local source in Anbar told al-Araby al-Jadeed that the coalition's airstrikes targeted IS sites north of Mosul on Tuesday, while Peshmerga targeted a number of nearby sites with heavy shelling, resulting in nearly 41 deaths and injuries among IS fighters.

The coalition recently intensified its airstrikes on IS strongholds in Iraq, while the countdown has begun to operations to liberate Ramadi.