BAGHDAD, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) forces on Friday launched an operation to hunt down militants of the extremist Islamic State (IS) group in several areas across the country, a CTS statement said.
Acting on intelligence reports, the troops at dawn arrested "some wanted suspected terrorists" in capital Baghdad, western province of Anbar, and northern province of Kirkuk, the statement said.
The captured suspects are believed to have links to the IS group and have information about the group's leaders in the country, the statement added.
It also said that the CTS troops would continue operations in the next few days to hunt down the IS remnants.
The operation came one day after two suicide bombings took place on Thursday morning in a bustling outdoor market in the Bab al-Sharji area in downtown Baghdad, which resulted in the killing of 32 people and the wounding of more than a hundred others.
Earlier on Friday, IS group claimed responsibility for the bombings that targeted a gathering of Shiite people.
Massive suicide bombings have become rare in Baghdad, as the security situation has been relatively improved in Iraq since the Iraqi security forces fully defeated IS militants across the country late in 2017.
However, sporadic deadly incidents still occur in the war-ravaged country as IS remnants have since melted into urban areas or deserts and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians. Enditem
