ISIS drone shot down near Ramadi
Anbar (IraqiNews.com) A drone belonging to Islamic State militants was brought down in Anbar’s town of Ramadi while nine people suspected of affiliation with the group were detained on Sunday, security commanders in the province said.
Ismail al-Mahalawi, commander of the Interior Ministry’s Anbar Operations, said a “preemptive security operation in Soufiya, Ramadi, resulted in the arrest of nine suspects and the bringing down of an IS-flown drone at the center of the town.
Islamic State militants are still holding some hideouts in western Anbar, launching occasional attacks on security from there.
However, Qassem al-Mohammadi, who leads the army’s al-Jazeera Operations division in the province, said Sunday the volume of attacks by the group has receded recently due to regular airstrikes by Iraqi and US-led fighter jets. He said that preparations continue by security forces to storm IS-held regions at the west of the province.
Iraqi government forces, backed by international air forces, popular militias and Kurdish fighters, have been carrying out a major campaign since October 2016 to clear Iraq’s city of Mosul from IS extremists.
Mohammadi said IS defeats in Mosul leave a positive effect on the situation in Anbar by weakening the intensity of the group’s attacks.
50 barrel bombs seized in Ramadi
Anbar (IraqiNews.com) Commander of Anbar Operations, Major General Ismail al-Mahalawi announced on Sunday, that security forces discovered 50 missiles of Jahannam (Hell) cannon belonging to the Islamic State in Albu Diab area, in northern Ramadi.
Mahalawi said in a press statement, “Securing forces are searching and securing the areas of Ramadi, including Albu Diab, that were controlled by the Islamic State for more than three years.”
“During search operations, security forces discovered 50 Jahannam missiles that were used by the terrorist group to attack innocent civilians,” Mahalawi added.
Mahalawi also pointed out that Anbar Operations Command continue combing the liberated areas, backed by police forces and army’s engineering teams, in order to dismantle improvised explosive devices and remnants left by the Islamic State.