BAGHDAD, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi security forces killed on Sunday 17 Islamic State (IS) militants in an operation in western Iraq, the Iraqi military said.
Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) forces launched an operation at dawn to hunt down IS terrorists in the Akashat area in the desert of Iraq's western province of Anbar, spokesman of the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi forces Yahia Rasoul said in a statement.
Rasoul said that the forces clashed with IS militants in the area and killed 17 of them, including a prominent figure in the terrorist group, without giving further details about the identities of the killed militants.
Over the past months, Iraqi security forces have conducted operations against extremist militants to crack down on their intensified activities.
The security situation in Iraq has been improving since the defeat of the IS in 2017. However, its remnants have since sneaked into urban centers, deserts, and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians. ■
