The operation declared Saturday is the first of its kind carried out in the desert in these three Iraqi provinces since the Iraqi government announced defeating the self-proclaimed Daesh terrorist organization late last year.

Units from the Iraqi army-linked Al-Jazeera and the Badia Operations Command (JBOC), as well as the pro-government Al-Hashd al-Shaabi forces began combing the desert area, Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasool, Iraqi military spokesman said in a statement Saturday.

The operation, according to Rasool, has been launched from seven directions and is backed by both the Iraqi Air Force and the U.S.-led International Aliance’s fighter jets.

Last December, officials in Baghdad declared that Daesh's military presence in Iraq had been all but dismantled following operations backed by the U.S.-led International Alliance.

However, from time to time, Iraqi officials announce operations against Daesh-affiliated "sleeper cells" in certain parts of the country.