Five militants killed, two others arrested near Iraqi-Syrian borders
A tank of Iraqi army fires against Islamic State militants at Al Jazeera neighbourhood of Tal Afar, Iraq, August 23, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES
In a statement, Brig. Gen. Yahia Rasool, spokesperson for the center, said “border guards managed to kill five militants and arrest two others as they were trying to sneak through north of Qaim town, near the Iraqi-Syrian borders.”
Troops from Al-Jazira Operations Command and the military, backed by army jets, started an operation to secure the region, the statement added.
In December, the Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced gaining control on all the territories that were captured by Islamic State, since 2014.
Thousands of militants as well as Iraqi civilians were killed since the government campaign, backed by paramilitary troops and the coalition was launched in October 2016 to fight the militant group, which declared a self-styled “caliphate” from Mosul in June 2014.
Islamic State continues to launch sporadic attacks across Iraq against troops. 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.