11 IS militants killed in airstrikes, clashes with Kurds in Iraq

At least 11 Islamic State (IS) militants were killed on Thursday and 12 others were wounded in shelling by the US-led international coalition and clashes with Kurdish Peshmerga troops to the west of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

Four IS militants were killed in clashes with the Kurdish Peshmerga troops on Thursday morning about 25 km away from Mosul, Ghiath el-Srouji, a security official from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) told Efe news agency.

"The fighting, which lasted more than two hours, erupted when the IS militants attacked Kurdish defence lines in the village of al-Waeliya, located in al-Kasak of Tel Afar district," el-Srouji added.

The other seven IS operatives were killed in airstrikes launched by the US-led international coalition on the periphery of clashes between the extremists and the Peshmerga.

During the bombings, 12 IS fighters were wounded, and a Kurdish soldier was also hurt in the clashes.

The areas of Tel Afar and Sinjar, in the west, have been the scene of intense aerial bombings in recent days due to IS migration and coalition bombings attempting to cut supply routes from neighbouring Syria.

The IS took control of Mosul a year ago when it proclaimed its caliphate in June 2014 in the areas under its control in Syria and Iraq.