3 IS militants killed in western Iraq

Three militants of the Islamic State (IS) group were killed in a clash with paramilitary Hashd Shaabi forces in Iraq's western province of Anbar, a Hashd Shaabi statement said.

The clash occurred on Friday during an operation by the Hashd Shaabi forces to hunt down IS militants in the desert area of Wadi Huran west of the provincial capital Ramadi, some 110 km west of Baghdad, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the statement.

The IS militants are still active in the vast Anbar desert that stretches to the Iraqi borders with neighboring countries of Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. They are infiltrating Iraq from Syria across the nearly 600-km border in an attempt to regroup again.

Over the past few months, Iraqi security forces have conducted operations across the country against the IS militants to crack down on their intensified activities.

The security situation in Iraq has been improving since 2017. However, the IS remnants have since melted into urban centers, deserts, and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against the security forces and civilians.