Publish Date: 27 February 2023 - 10:15

TEHRAN, Feb. 27 (MNA) – 17 members of the ISIL terrorist group, including a prominent leader, were killed in the anti-terrorist operation in the western province of Al Anbar, according to the command of the Iraqi army.

Iraqi military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Rasoul in a statement announced that the country's anti-terrorism unit clashed with ISIL terrorists on Monday morning in the Akashat area located in the desert of Al Anbar province, killing 17 members and one of the leaders of the group.

In December 2017, after nearly three and a half years of fighting with the ISIL terrorist group, which occupied about a third of the country, the Iraqi government announced the liberation of all its territories from the hands of this terrorist group.

The remaining elements of ISIL are still operating in areas of Baghdad, Saladin, Diyala, Kirkuk, Niveneh, and Al Anbar provinces.

MNA/IRN85041652