Iraqi troops seize arms depot inside abandoned house in Anbar
Iraqi security man carries a rocket from an IS arms depot
Anbar (Iraqinews.com) – Iraqi security forces seized on Tuesday an arms depot hidden inside an uninhibited house in Anbar governorate, a security council was quoted as saying.
“Seven locally-made bombs and 12 mortar shells were found inside the house, located in Al-Qa’im district in Anbar,” Alghad Press quoted Spokesman for the Iraqi Security Media Council Brig. Gen. Yehia Rasool as saying.
“All explosive materials were remotely detonated at the site,” Rasool pointed out.
Violence in the country has surged further with the emergence of Islamic State 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 five 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 earlier in November with the recapture of Rawa, a city on Anbar’s western borders with Syria, which was the group’s last bastion in Iraq.
Despite the group’s crushing defeat at its main havens across Iraq, Islamic State continues to launch sporadic attacks against troops with security reports warning that the militant group still poses a threat against stability in the country.