BAGHDAD (Dispatches) – Iraqi security forces on Monday carried out an operation north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, killing several Daesh terrorists, a military statement said.
A joint army and Hashd al-Sha’abi popular force ambushed a group of Daesh terrorists in a rural area near the town of Tarmoyah, some 30 kilometers north of Baghdad, killing the terrorists who were planning to carry out terrorist attacks, the Hashd al-Sha’abi said in a statement.
One of those killed was identified as Omer Jawad Mahmoud, who is known to be responsible for transporting Daesh bombers to their targets in nearby cities, the statement said.
The troops continue their operation to clear the rural areas north of Baghdad from the terrorists, the statement added.
Over the past months, Daesh militants have intensified attacks on Iraqi security forces in the province the militants previously controlled, leaving dozens dead and wounded.
The security situation in Iraq has been improving since Iraqi security forces defeated Daesh in 2017.
However, remnants of the terrorist group have since melted into urban centers or deserts and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians.
Meanwhile, according to official news agency SANA on Monday, U.S. troops stationed in Syria have transported consignments of stolen oil to Iraq, using scores of tanker trucks.
The U.S. forces allowed a convoy of 80 vehicles, including tanker trucks carrying stolen Syrian oil, to cross the “illegitimate” al-Walid crossing into Iraq.
SANA cited local sources from Rmelan town in the northeastern province of Hasakah as saying that the convoy was accompanied by armored vehicles.
On Thursday, 25 U.S. tanker trucks carrying stolen oil also headed from Syria to Iraq.
The U.S.-led coalition purportedly fighting Daesh has been conducting airstrikes and operations inside Syria since September 2014 without any authorization from the Damascus government or a United Nations mandate.