BAGHDAD, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi forces on Monday killed three Islamic State (IS) militants in an operation in the western province of Anbar, a security official said.

A joint force from the Iraqi army and paramilitary tribal fighters conducted a search operation in the hills of al-Tueiba area in the north of the provincial capital Ramadi, located some 110 km west of Baghdad, said Mahmoud al-Falahi, commander of Anbar Operations Command.

During the operation, the troops clashed with the three extremist militants and killed them all, al-Falahi said, adding the troops also seized the militants' weapons and their motorcycle.

IS militants are still active in the vast Anbar desert which stretches to the border with neighboring countries of Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, as many civilians have been kidnapped or killed by the extremist group recently.

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. Enditem

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