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Iraqi soldiers killed in desert operation as drug busts surge

Massive amounts of drugs are being smuggled across Iraqi borders while a large anti-terrorism operation including Iran-linked forces and US-led coalition support continues.
Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Services (CTS).

ERBIL, Iraq — Multiple major drug busts in Iraq in recent weeks have been followed by an operation against Islamic State (IS) cells in several provinces, including western Anbar.

Enormous quantities of the illicit substance known as Captagon have been seized in recent months in areas not far from Iraq’s western border with Syria, which is part of a vast desert and hard to control.

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