BAGHDAD, May 28 (Xinhua) -- Two Iraqi paramilitary tribal fighters were killed and another wounded Tuesday in a car bomb explosion during an operation to hunt down Islamic State (IS) militants in a desert area in Iraq's western province of Anbar, a security source said.
A booby-trapped car, apparently left by the extremist militants, detonated on a convoy of vehicles carrying the tribal fighters in a desert near the town of Haditha, some 200 km northwest of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, Ghanim al-Mazroui from al-Jazira Operations Command told Xinhua.
The blast killed two tribal fighters, injured another and destroyed their vehicle, al-Mazroui said.
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
