Iraqi security forces seize arms cache in Anbar
Iraqi security man carries a rocket from an IS arms depot
Anbar (Iraqinews.com) – Iraqi security forces announced on Saturday the seizure of an arms depot in Anbar province, a security council was quoted as saying.
“A force from al-Jazeera Operations Command seized four boxes filled with explosive materials in Rawa district in western Anbar,” Alghad Press quoted Spokesman for the Iraqi Security Media Council Brig. Gen. Yehia Rasool as saying.
“The troops also found 21 mortar shells, an explosive belt and a bomb in the desert area between Anah and al-Raihana districts,” the spokesman added.
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.