Baghdad

The Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) said that its forces have killed 13 Islamic State (IS) militants across the country so far this month.

Spokesman of CTS Sabah al-Numan told the official Iraqi News Agency (INA) on Sunday that the commandos, backed by aircraft, carried out several security operations in June, killing 13 IS militants and arresting many others, in addition to the destruction of some caves and hideouts.

The CTS forces will continue their operations to hunt down IS militants, Xinhua news agency quoted al-Numan as saying to INA.

The operations were part of efforts to eliminate the extremist IS militants who intensified their attacks on security forces and civilians in provinces the group had controlled previously, resulting in the killing and wounding of dozens.

The security situation in Iraq has been improving since the security forces fully defeated the IS militants across the country late in 2017.

However, IS remnants have since retreated to deserts and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians.

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