Iraqi army seized explosives from resurgent Islamic State terror group

A large quantity of weapons and explosives belonging to the Islamic State were seized by Iraqi security forces on Tuesday evening, as the group attempts to resurface in the country.

Hundreds of shells were found and confiscated in Al-Habbaniyah district in western Iraq’s Anbar governorate, according to the military’s Security Media Cell (SMC).

Military intelligence seized at least 200 Austrian-made artillery shells which were to be used by IS, the SMC said.

Military intelligence arrested six Syrian nationals who were ambushed as they attempted to infiltrate Iraqi territory, it added.

Iraqi security forces killed at least four IS militants in Anbar in a separate incident earlier on Tuesday.

Iraq has seen a spate of attacks in recent weeks, many of which have been claimed by IS. Despite losing territory in 2017, the group’s cells remain active across the country.

In the north, several fighters from the Peshmerga – Iraqi Kurdistan’s armed forces – have been killed over the past fortnight in attacks that have been blamed on IS.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi met with leaders of the Iraqi army and police as well as the Peshmerga in Makhmour, northern Iraq on Wednesday, where he vowed to hunt IS down.

A motorcycle bombing rocked the relatively safe city of Basra, southern Iraq on Tuesday, killing several people. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.

Source: Al Araby