Baghdad, May 9 (IANS): The Iraqi forces have killed three Islamic State (IS) militants and arrested three of the group's local leaders in the provinces of Nineveh and Baghdad, the Iraqi military said.

The army carried out an operation in a mountainous area in the northern province of Nineveh and killed three IS militants, Yahia Rasoul, spokesman of the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi forces, Xinhua news agency reported, citing a statement.

Separately, the Iraqi forces arrested three IS local leaders in Baghdad Province by intelligence reports from previously arrested terrorists, the media office of the Joint Operations Command (JOC) said in another statement.

"During the preliminary investigations, the detainees confessed to carrying out terrorist operations in Anbar Province, leading terrorist groups, and participating in several terrorist operations against security forces and citizens," the JOC statement said.

Over the past few months, Iraqi security forces have conducted operations against the extremist militants to crack down on their intensified activities.

The security situation in Iraq has been improving since the defeat of the IS in 2017. However, the IS remnants have since melted into urban centers, deserts and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against the security forces and civilians.