WASHINGTON 11 Sep (ANA) - An island "infested" with ISIS fighters was annihilated by almost 40 tonnes of bombs dropped from US warplanes. 

Dramatic aerial footage shows explosions as bombs hit Qanus Island followed by huge mushroom clouds billowing into the air over the Tigris River in Iraq.

The island had become a "safe haven" and "major transit hub" for the terrorists, who hid within thick vegetation, as they moved into Iraq from neighbouring Syria, the US-led coalition said.

But the hideout was obliterated and an unknown number of jihadists were killed as US Air Force F-15 Strike Eagle and F-35A Lightning II aircraft, alongside Iraqi warplanes, launched airstrikes this week.

Bombs were dropped on Qanus - located near the US military base in Qayyarah - amid a series of ground attacks by Iraqi troops.

The US-led coalition said the island, north of Baghdad, was a hideout for terrorists moving from Syria and the Jazeera desert into Mosul, Makhmour, and the Kirkuk region of Iraq.

Major General Eric T Hill, a commander with Operation Inherent Resolve, the US-led anti-ISIS campaign, said: “We’re denying Daesh the ability to hide on Qanus Island.(ANA)

FA/ANA/11 September 2019----