BAGHDAD, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi forces have captured three suppliers for the Islamic State (IS) sleeper cells in the eastern province of Diyala, an Iraqi official newspaper reported Tuesday.
Acting on intelligence information, the Iraqi security and paramilitary Hashd Shaabi forces ambushed and captured the three suppliers during the past few days, Sadiq al-Husseini, spokesman of Hashd Shaabi forces in Diyala, told al-Sabah newspaper.
Meanwhile, the international coalition aircraft carried out an airstrike at dawn on Monday on a group of IS militants hidden inside a cave in Makhoul mountain range in the northern part of Salahudin Province, according to al-Sabah.
In the western province of Anbar, the provincial intelligence service seized 15 roadside bombs in the town of al-Garma near Fallujah city, some 50 km west of Iraq's capital Baghdad, and arrested an IS militant in the town of Heet, some 160 km west of Baghdad, the newspaper said.
The three operations came as part of the security forces' efforts against the recent increase in IS deadly activities, including the twin suicide bombings on Jan. 21 that killed 32 and wounded more than 100 others in Baghdad, as well as the attack on Hashd Shaabi outpost in Salahudin on Jan. 23 that killed 11 paramilitary members and wounded 12 others.
The security situation has been relatively improved in Iraq since the Iraqi security forces fully defeated IS militants across the country late in 2017.
However, sporadic deadly incidents still occur in the war-ravaged country as IS remnants have since melted into urban areas or deserts and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians. Enditem