Iraqi troops arrest IS terrorist, dismantle 55 explosives in Anbar
An Islamic State terrorist was arrested Tuesday in Anbar province with three machine guns in his possession, an Iraqi military spokesman said.
“Security forces arrested a terrorist while hiding at his house in Ar-Rutbah district in western Anbar,” Almaalomah news website quoted spokesman for the Security Media Center Brig. Gen. Yahya Rassol as saying, adding that three machine guns were found inside the house.
He added that the troops also dismantled 55 explosive charges that were left by Islamic State militants in the province.
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.
Former Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi declared the end of military operations against Islamic State in Iraq on December 9, 2017 three years after the militant group seized large swathes of Syria and Iraq in 2014 and imposed its rule over some 10 million people..
Despite the group’s crushing defeat at its main havens across Iraq, Islamic State continues to launch sporadic attacks against troops with security reports warning that the militant group still poses a threat against stability in the country.
