BAGHDAD, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units on Wednesday killed nine Islamic State (IS) militants near the border with neighboring Syria, the units said.
The paramilitary units destroyed an IS truck and killed three IS militants aboard, while the truck tried to cross the border with Syria in western Iraq, the units said in a brief statement.
Meanwhile, rockets of the Hashd Shaabi units pounded an IS post near the border with Syria, leaving six IS militants killed and destroying an IS vehicle, the units said in another statement.
The incidents came as the Iraqi forces, including the predominantly Shiite Hashd Shaabi units and Sunni tribal fighters, are preparing to liberate the IS-held town of Tal Afar, some 70 km west of Mosul.
On July 10, Abadi officially declared Mosul's liberation from IS after nearly nine months of fierce fighting to dislodge the extremist militants from their last major stronghold in Iraq.
