ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi security forces have uncovered one of the Islamic State’s (ISIS) largest weapons and ammunition caches during a major security operation in western Anbar province, a local official said on Thursday.
Imad Mashaal al-Dulaimi, mayor of Ar-Rutbah in Anbar, told Rudaw on Thursday that the cache was seized during a carefully planned search-and-sweep operation in the deserts south of the district, located 170 kilometers west of the Syrian border.
“As a result of a precise security operation in the south of Ar-Rutbah district, a large ISIS weapons and ammunition cache was seized, which the militants had hidden in the desert,” he said.
Dulaimi said intelligence obtained after the National Security Agency arrested an ISIS militant on January 27 in Ramadi, a former ISIS stronghold, led to the discovery. The suspect revealed the names of two other individuals in Ar-Rutbah who led security forces to the hidden cache after being interrogated.
The three-day operation was carried out by the Anbar police command, the tactical regiment, the National Security Agency, and the Iraqi Army’s 5th division, targeting areas including Wadi Qazaf, Chalabat, Ma'ila, and Smayl.
The seized weapons included 23mm and 14.5mm anti-aircraft machine guns, three RPGs, a 60mm mortar, five PKM machine guns, and three sniper rifles, the Iraqi Ministry of Interior said in a statement.
Security forces also confiscated 33 120mm mortar shells, 11 sticky bombs, nine other explosive devices, two suicide belts, and six mobile phones prepared for detonation. Additional items included M4 silencers, cameras, medicine, and “Kandahari” style clothing. Kandahar is the Taliban stronghold in Afghanistan.
The Interior Ministry said operations against ISIS militants will continue to "pursue the remnants of terrorist gangs, dismantle their caches, and dry up their sources of support.” The ministry vowed “to stop them from reorganising their ranks in order to safeguard the security of citizens and the country’s stability."
ISIS seized control of large parts of Iraq in 2014 but was militarily defeated in 2017 after three years of intense fighting.
Despite its defeat, the group continues to pose security threats, particularly in disputed areas between Erbil and Baghdad, including parts of Diyala, Kirkuk, Nineveh, and Salahaddin provinces.
Earlier this week, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein warned in an interview with Rudaw that ISIS still has the capacity to carry out attacks.
“ISIS remains, and it exists,” Hussein said, cautioning that the group could still engage in “terrorist activity.”
Hussein said ISIS is unlikely to regain territorial control, he emphasized that “terrorist activity is always dangerous.”
Iraqi security forces last week also captured an individual wearing an explosive belt near a Kurdish-owned restaurant in Ramadi, the capital of Anbar, authorities said, thwarting what they said was an imminent attack.