LOC23:45
20:45 GMT
BAGHDAD, Aug 31 (KUNA) -- Iraqi jetfighters dropped Thursday leaflets over Hawija, informing people to get ready for an imminent operation to drive the so-called Islamic State (IS) militants out of the city.
In a press statement, the Iraqi Army said that aircraft dropped millions on fliers on the Hawija, south of Kirkuk Province.
The leaflets urged residents to keep away from the IS militant assembly posts as well as the buildings and areas they control.
These would be targets for the Iraqi jetfighters' strikes, reads the statement, it added that safe corridors for civilians would be announced later.
The leaflets also demanded militants to turn in their weaponry and surrender to the Iraqi army or expect death.
Hawija is one of the few remaining areas controlled by the IS militants in Iraq so far.
Over the past two years, the Iraqi forces backed by the international anti-IS coalition have managed to defeat IS militants and forced them to leave their havens in Al-Anbar, Saladdin, Nineveh provinces. (end)
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