A military operation is underway to clear out the last traces of the Islamic State from Iraq.
Iraq’s military said Saturday its troops launched an operation aimed at eliminating the terror group in areas around Baghdad.
It was the second phase of an operation dubbed “Will to Victory,” which started two weeks ago and initially targeted the region along the border with Syria. The military said the new target area is the Diyala, Salahuddin and Anbar provinces.
Although Iraq declared victory against Islamic State in July 2017, the extremists have turned into an insurgency and continue to carry out deadly attacks in the country.
The military said Iraqi troops, Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces, the federal police and others were taking part in the operation supported by the Iraqis and the US-led international coalition.
The operation comes as violence remains high. A prominent Turkish diplomat was gunned down in Iraqi Kurdistan last week.