BAGHDAD, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi security forces on Tuesday launched a new offensive to drive out Islamic State (IS) militants from a town and nearby areas in Iraq's western province of Anbar, the Iraqi military said.
Two Iraqi army's infantry divisions and a brigade of armored vehicles, backed by paramilitary tribal fighters, advanced to liberate the town of Aana, some 280 km northwest of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, and the nearby Rayhana area from IS militants, Lt. Gen. Abdul Amir Yarallah from the Iraqi Joint Operations Command said in a brief statement.
The operation came three days after another offensive that completely recaptured Akashat and reopened a nearby strategic road near the Iraqi-Syrian border.
Earlier, the Iraqi security forces dislodged IS militants from the key cities of Anbar Province, including Ramadi and nearby Fallujah, but the areas near the border with neighboring Syria, including Aana, Rawa and al-Qaim as well as the vast rural areas across the province, are still under the control of IS militants.
