Four Islamic State militants apprehended in Anbar operation
Iraqi security forces arrest a suspected member of the Islamic State group in Iraq. File photo
Anbar (IraqiNews.com) – Iraqi security forces on Thursday arrested four Islamic State (IS) militants during a security operation in Ar-Rutba district of Anbar province.
Speaking to the privately-owned Alghad Press website, Ar-Rutba’s mayor Imad al-Dulaimi said that security forces backed by Iraqi warplanes carried out a successful “air landing operation in the desert region of Ar-Rutba,” where they apprehended four Islamic State militants.
Dulaimi pointed out that the security situation in the district is completely reassuring at the present time.
Iraq declared the collapse of Islamic State’s territorial influence in Iraq 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.
The Islamic State group appeared on the international scene in 2014 when it seized large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria, declaring the establishment of an Islamic “caliphate” from Mosul city.
Later on, the group has become notorious for its brutality, including mass killings, abductions and beheadings, prompting the U.S. to lead an international coalition to destroy it.
Isolated cells believed to be linked to the Islamic State group, however, remain active in some parts of the country with security reports warning that the militant group still poses a threat against stability in the country.