Iraqi troops arrest two Islamic State terrorists in Anbar
Iraqi security forces arrest a suspected member of the Islamic State group
Anbar (IraqiNews.com) – Iraqi security forces arrested on Wednesday two Islamic State militants while hiding among the displaced families in Anbar province, a security source said.
“Security forces carried out a crackdown targeting several villages of Anbar, managing to arrest two dangerous IS militants,” the source told Almaalomah news website.
The source added that the pair was “implicated in launching attacks against security forces and civilians in Anbar.”
They had fled to the liberated areas among the displaced families after the liberation of Anbar from Islamic State, the source added.
Iraq declared the collapse of Islamic State’s territorial influence in November 2017 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.
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.