ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Officials in the disputed town of Sadiya, in Diyala province, have ordered a massive defense trench be constructed to protect residents against the vehicle-borne suicide attacks of ISIS militants, a city official told Rudaw. Ahmed Sabir Zargushi, a top local official, said on Friday the security trench to would "enhance security and stability of the town and protect civilians from Daesh [ISIS] suicide attacks.” Zargushi said that no motorcycles or vehicles can cross the trench, making the area a safe zone for residents who are returning to their homes after fleeing ISIS. “That can be a guarantee for displaced people coming back to the town,” Zargushi added. Kurdish forces and Shiite militias, known as Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Units), have engaged in heavy fighting with ISIS around the towns of Sadiya and Jalawla. The towns were liberated by Peshmerga units backed by US-led coalition airstrikes on November 23, an operation in which at least 18 Peshmerga soldiers were killed. The area around Sadiya is still marked by sporadic attacks from ISIS.
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