Troops from the 2nd Iraqi Special Operations Forces Battalion were then sent in to clear the area, which was described as a 'transit hub' for ISIS fighters coming from Syria into the Mosul, Makhmour, and Kirkuk regions of Iraq.

Axar.az reports citing Dailymail that dramatic video of the bombing raid shows the island lit up from end-to-end with explosions that leave virtually no part of it untouched. Authorities said they dropped the bombs on the island to 'disrupt Daesh the ability to hide in the thick vegetation'.

'We know they are hiding in the ungoverned spaces [and that] Daesh is still trying to regenerate,' Hill said on September 2.