BAGHDAD

The Iraqi army killed 38 Daesh militants in an air operation early Friday, the country’s Joint Operations Command said in a statement.

The airstrikes against the fighters also killed high-ranking figures within the group as well as suicide bombers, according to the statement that said the army also prevented planned bomb attacks, including suicide attacks in Baghdad and southern Iraq.

An Iraqi parliament's security and defense committee member, Muvaffak er-Rabii, told Anadolu Agency that the militant group “tries to shake the security of Baghdad and southern provinces by using every method".

Rabii said security measures should be increased in Baghdad and southern Iraq and residents' awareness should be increased to help prevent attacks.

The country’s security forces have conducted anti-terror operations against Daesh in northern and western Iraq since 2014.

Additionally, a U.S.-led international coalition has been supporting those operations with airstrikes.