Iraqi security kill 9 Islamic State fighters in Anbar
Islamic State fighters carry their swords following a battle with Iraqi security forces. File photo
Anbar (IraqiNews.com) – Iraqi security forces killed on Wednesday nine members of the Islamic State militant group during a preemptive operation in Anbar province, a security source was quoted as saying.
Speaking to Almaalomah news website, the source said that counter-terrorism forces in Anbar killed nine Islamic State terrorists, who were planning to launch attacks against security forces deployed in Ar-Rutbah district in western Anbar.
The troops, according to the source, also destroyed several Islamic State tunnels and seized a large cache of the group’s ammunition.
Iraq declared the collapse of Islamic State’s territorial influence in November 2017 with the recapture of Rawa, a city on Anbar’s western borders with Syria, which was the group’s last bastion in Iraq.
IS declared a self-styled “caliphate” in a third of Iraq and neighboring Syria in 2014. A government campaign, backed by a U.S.-led international coalition and paramilitary forces, was launched in 2016 to retake IS-held regions, managing to retake all havens, most notably the city of Mosul, the group’s previously proclaimed capital.