Baghdad: Iraqi security forces have begun a large-scale security operation to clear areas in western Iraq from the Islamic State (IS) militants, the Iraq military said. The operation is designed to hunt down the remnants of the extremist militants in the vast desert area between the provinces of Salahudin, Nineveh and Anbar, Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasoul, spokesman of the Iraq Joint Operations Command, said in a statement on Saturday, Xinhua reported. The security forces will advance westward to the Iraqi-Syrian border, the statement said. The Iraq forces, backed by Hashd Shaabi forces, have been deployed in the desert area for months to secure the Iraq side of the border and prevent infiltration of IS militants from Syria to Iraq. (IANS)