BAGHDAD — In and out of Iraq, talks are ongoing regarding the Islamic State’s (IS) return to Anbar province and focused effort to take control of its towns, one after the other. It was able to advance into the cities of Hit and Kabisa and control a part of Ramadi, threatening the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.

However, the question that has never been responsibly considered within the context of the fight against IS is: Did IS ever truly leave Anbar before its return today?

The group still considers Anbar its most sensitive military arena, being Iraq's largest province at a third of the area of the country and a main arena for extremist groups since 2003. It is geographically linked to three countries — Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria — as well as to six other Iraqi provinces: Mosul, Salahuddin, Baghdad, Babil, Karbala and Najaf.

The complex and vast desert of Anbar has always been a focal point for terrorist groups and a field for their movements across cities, away from the main transportation lines and monitoring by intelligence organizations. The demographics of Anbar, where tribal and nomadic ties dominate, has created an environment socially suitable for IS. Throughout 2013, Anbar also saw Sunni protests against the government, and was the first battlefield for IS in Iraq at the start of 2014.