Eight Islamic State members arrested in operation, west of Anbar

Anbar (IraqiNews.com) Eight Islamic State members were arrested in a security operation, west of Anbar, a security source from the province said on Wednesday.

“Security troops carried out a wide-scale campaign after information showed the presence of militants, who had sneaked into Qaim town, west of Anbar, to carry out terrorist operations,” the source told Almaalomah website.

“The campaign resulted in arresting eight Islamic State members,” the source added indicating that “the arrested ones accessed the town using fake identity cards while the displaced families were returning back to their liberated regions.”

The troops, according to the source, “transferred the arrested ones under tight measures to a nearby detention cell for investigations.”

Thousands of Islamic State militants as well as Iraqi civilians were killed since the government campaign, backed by paramilitary troops and the coalition was launched in October 2016.

Islamic State continues to launch sporadic attacks across Iraq against troops. Security reports indicate that the militant group still poses threat against stability in the country. The group still has dormant cells, through which it carries out attacks, across Iraq like it used to do before 2014.

In December, the Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced gaining control on all the territories that were captured by Islamic State, since 2014.