Iraqi forces on Monday launched the third phase of a major offensive to hunt down remnants of Islamic State (IS) militants in eastern and northern Iraq, the Iraqi military said.

A statement by the media office of the Joint Operations Command said the Iraqi army, police and paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units, backed by the Iraqi and U.S.-led coalition aircraft, carried out the third phase of the offensive dubbed "Victory Will" in the eastern Diyala province and Nineveh province in the north.

The troops begun search operations in the rural areas near the towns of al-Muqdadiyah, Jalawla and Khanaqin in Diyala province, the statement said.

Also in Nineveh province, the troops commenced an operation to clear the rugged areas of al-Atshana and the mountain ranges of Badush and Sheikh Ibrahim in west and northwest of the provincial capital city of Mosul, 400 km north of Baghdad, the statement said.

It added that further details to be released later about the operations.

In July, Iraqi forces, backed by the Iraqi and U.S.-led coalition aircraft, conducted the first and second phases of the "Victory Will" offensive, aimed at securing areas in the north of Baghdad and the provinces of Anbar, Salahudin and Nineveh.

Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, who is also the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi forces, arrived in Diyala Operations Command at dawn to supervise the launch of the third phase of the offensive, according to a brief statement on Mahdi's official Facebook page.

The security situation in Iraq was dramatically improved after Iraqi security forces fully defeated the extremist IS militants across the country late in 2017.

IS remnants, however, have since melted in urban areas or resorted to deserts and rugged areas as safe havens, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians. 

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