Iraqi forces launch offensive to clear IS militants from rural areas near Fallujah

Iraqi security forces launched an operation on Saturday to flush out the Islamic State (IS) militants from rural areas near the newly-freed city of Fallujah in Iraq's western province of Anbar, a provincial security source said.

Backed by the U.S.-led heavy bombardment on the IS positions in Jazirat al-Khaldiyah area, a sprawling agricultural land to the northwest of Fallujah, security forces and allied paramilitary units Hashd Shaabi advanced from three directions, forcing the IS militants in the area to retreat, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The clashes killed some 50 IS militants, including three snipers, with three IS vehicles carrying heavy machine guns destroyed, he said.

Meanwhile, explosive experts defused some 150 bombs planted on the roads or in the houses across the area, the source added.

The offensive came after the government forces had reclaimed key cities and towns, such as Ramadi and Fallujah along the Euphrates River.

Iraq has witnessed worsening violence since the IS took control of parts of its northern and western regions in June 2014.

Many blame the current chronic instability, cycle of violence and the rise of extremist groups, such as the IS, on the U.S. that invaded and occupied Iraq in March 2003, under the pretext of seeking to destroy weapons of mass destruction in the country.

The war led to the ouster and eventual execution of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, but no such weapons have been found. Endit