Iraqi troops destroy four IS tunnels, detonate 80 explosives in Anbar
Paramilitary fighters and military vehicles are seen during a military operation to retake positions held by Islamic State militants, on the outskirts of Muqdadiyah in Diyala province, north of Baghdad January 25, 2015. Picture taken January 25, 2015. REUTERS
Anbar (Iraqinews.com) – Iraqi troops destroyed on Monday four Islamic State tunnels and detonated 80 explosive charges in Anbar province, according to the Iraqi Security Media Center.
In statements to Alghad Press website, Brig. Gen. Yehia Rasool, a spokesman for the Iraqi Security Media Center, said, “Security forces in al-Jazirah Operations Command started an inspection operation in Anbar, destroying four Islamic State tunnels and detonating 80 explosive charges.”
“The troops also destroyed two hideouts and eight IS hideouts in the operation,” according to Rasool.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced last November that security forces had cleared “14,000 square kilometers” of al-Jazirah, a desert region surrounded by Anbar, Salahuddin and Nineveh provinces, from Islamic State vestiges.
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.
IS declared a self-styled “caliphate” in a third of Iraq and neighboring Syria in 2014. A government campaign, backed by a U.S.-led international coalition and paramilitary forces, was launched in 2016 to retake IS-held regions, managing to retake all havens, most notably the city of Mosul, the group’s previously proclaimed capital.