Baghdad, Jan 17: Iraqi security forces killed two Islamic State (IS) militants and arrested six others from across the country, the military said.
An army force, backed by Iraqi aircraft, attacked an IS hideout near the town of al-Garma in Fallujah, some 50 km west of the capital Baghdad, leaving two IS militants dead, Xinhua news agency quoted commander of Anbar’s Operations Command Nasir al-Ghannam as saying in a statement on Saturday.
Separately, the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) carried out operations in the provinces of Kirkuk, Salahudin, Anbar, and Baghdad, which resulted in the arrest of six IS militants, including an IS local leader, spokesman of the commander-in-chieIraq the Iraqi forces Yehia Rasool said in a separate statement.
The operations came as the extremist IS militants have intensified their attacks on the security forces, including Hashd Shaabi forces, and civilians in the formerly IS-controlled Sunni provinces, resulting in the killing and wounding of dozens.
The security situation in Iraq has been improving since security forces fully defeated the IS militants across the country late in 2017.
However, IS remnants have since melted in urban areas or deserts and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians.