Large cache of explosives, mortar shells found in Baghdad

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi troops found on Thursday a large cache of explosive charges and mortar shells south of Baghdad, a military command said.

“Iraqi troops, as part of ongoing efforts to hunt for Islamic State militants, have found 42 explosive charges and seven mortar shells south of the Iraqi capital,” the Baghdad Operations Command said in a statement, a copy of which was obtained by Baghdad News.

“All of the bombs have been remotely detonated, with no casualties reported,” the statement read.

Also, the troops arrested a large number of outlaws, who are wanted on criminal and terror charges, the statement added.

Violence in the country has surged further with the emergence of Islamic State Sunni extremist militants who proclaimed an “Islamic Caliphate” in Iraq and Syria in 2014.

The surge in violence between armed groups and government forces has resulted in over 3 million internally displaced persons across Iraq and left more than 11 million in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Iraq declared the collapse of Islamic State’s territorial influence in Iraq earlier this month with the recapture of Rawa, a city on Anbar’s western borders with Syria, which was the group’s last bastion in Iraq.