Five Islamic State members killed while booby-trapping road, west of Anbar

Anbar (IraqiNews.com) Five Islamic State members were killed while trying to booby- trap a main road, west of Anbar, a commander from the mobilization troops in the province said on Thursday.

‘Security troops managed to kill five Islamic State members, as they were booby-trapping the road which links Wadi al-Qathf to the kilo 160 region in Rutba town, west of Anbar,” Col. Fadel al-Eissawy, a commander of al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) of Ameriyat al-Somoud region, told Almaalomah website.

“The troops noticed the militants and began firing, which left them killed, without casualties among the attacking fighters,” the source said, adding that troops took strict security measures.

Last week, five Islamic State members, including an Uzbekistani leader, were killed in an operation against an Islamic State pocket in the desert of Qaim town.

Security reports indicate that the militant group still poses threat against stability in the country. The group still has dormant cells, through which it carries out attacks, across Iraq like it used to do before 2014.

Thousands of Islamic State militants as well as Iraqi civilians were killed since the government campaign, backed by paramilitary troops and the coalition was launched in October 2016.