BAGHDAD, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) forces arrested two leaders of the extremist Islamic State (IS) group in separate operations, the Iraqi military said on Monday.

The troops arrested the group's administrative coordinator, nicknamed Abu Nabaa, at Baghdad International Airport after tracking him in another country before heading to Baghdad, Yahia Rasoul, spokesman of the Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi forces said in a statement without naming the other country.

Abu Nabaa was planned to organize a meeting with IS militants on the outskirts of Baghdad, as he was "tasked by the group to manage and coordinate the activities of IS militants in Iraq, as well as to form security, military, and media cells in Baghdad province," according to the statement.

Separately, in coordination with the Kurdish security forces, known as Asayish, in Sulaimaniyah province in northeastern Iraq, CTS forces arrested an IS leader known by his initials (W.F.), Rasoul said in a brief statement.

The capture of the extremist leaders came as IS militants are still active in the formerly IS-controlled Sunni provinces despite repeated security operations.

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

However, IS remnants have since melted in urban areas or deserts and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians. Enditem

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