A large-scale military operation near the western border of Iraq has uncovered several secret tunnels and resulted in the killing of at least 20 "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) militants, the Anbar Operations Command said Monday (February 5th).

The operation, carried out by the Iraqi army over the course of four days, covered desert areas that span 120 kilometres from south of al-Rutba to al-Nakhib, near the Iraqi borders with Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

The military operation has now wrapped up, commander Maj. Gen. Mahmoud al-Falahi told Diyaruna.

"Iraqi forces have cleared the borders with Jordan and Saudi Arabia based on intelligence on ISIS terror cells and pockets," he said.

"During the operation, our forces clashed with terrorists, killed 20 of them, seized two vehicles packed with explosives, and destroyed 4 four-wheel-drive vehicles and a number of tunnels and secret roads used by the terrorist group," he added.

"Control and monitoring towers and military barracks have been set up to prevent terrorists from regrouping in the desert in the future," he said.