Iraqi army kills two Islamic State terrorists on border with Syria
A Shi’ite volunteer wearing a mask, who has joined the Iraqi army to fight against the predominantly Sunni militants from the radical Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), looks on during a parade on a street in Kanaan, Diyala province, June 26, 2014.
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iraqi Defense Ministry announced on Sunday that its troops killed two Islamic State terrorists during a military operation on the country’s border with Syria.
The operation was launched after hearing the sound of a large explosion, the ministry said in a statement, adding that the two terrorists tried to escape the scene but the troops managed to kill them.
According to the statement, the troops also found bodies of three Islamic State suicide bombers wearing explosive belts at the scene.
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.