Security officials warn ISIS fighters are making their way back into Iraq

Islamic State militants who were able to survive intense fighting in Syria this spring have been slipping across the border into Iraq, settling in rural areas and joining new insurgent groups, security officials said.

Over the last eight months, about 1,000 fighters have made their way to Iraq, some by foot but most by car, officials told The Washington Post. Most are Iraqis who left to join ISIS in Syria, and they are now helping other militants with sniper attacks and roadside bombings outside of Iraq's major cities. Experts say they are mostly targeting security forces and community leaders.

This month, security forces started working to root out militants along Iraq's 370-mile border with Syria, and have found multiple bomb making factories, the Post reports. The insurgency is primarily in the central and northern part of Iraq, security officials said, and the Iraqi government does not believe the ISIS fighters will be able to take over huge areas of land.

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