Islamic State kills two Iraqis, kidnaps another in Iraq’s Anbar
Islamic State fighters carry their swords following a battle with Iraqi security forces. File photo
Anbar (IraqiNews.com) – Islamic State militants killed on Monday two Iraqis and kidnapped another in Haditha district, west of Anbar, a well-placed municipal official said.
“Iraqi farmers were gathering desert truffles from the valley of Al Wozeyh, 30 km west of Haditha, when they were attacked by Islamic State militants,” Khaled Salman, the head of Haditha municipal council, told Al Sumaria News.
“The militants killed two of the farmers and kidnapped another,” Salman noted, adding that security forces started a search operation for the kidnapped civilian.
Salman advised Haditha farmers to be cautious when they go to collect truffles from the desert of Anbar, where Islamic State militants are scattered.
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.
Islamic State, however, continues to launch sporadic attacks across Iraq against troops and civilians.