ISIS militants kill Iraqi soldier, two PMF militiamen in Diyala attacks: sources

Zhelwan Z. Wali
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Islamic State (ISIS) militants launched two attacks in Iraq’s Diyala province on Sunday night, killing an Iraqi soldier and two militiamen of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), known in Arabic as Hashd al-Shaabi.

In one attack the militants launched a three-pronged mortar attack on an Iraqi army observation post in the village of Subaidi in Jalawla, killing one soldier and wounding two others, according to a Peshmerga official in the region.

“After the mortars were fired, clashes erupted between the attacking militants and the Iraqi army,” Lieutenant Colonel Ahmed Mustafa of the Peshmerga intelligence unit told Rudaw. “A [mortar] targeted the Iraqi army killing a soldier and wounding two others.”

ISIS also attacked a PMF base in the town of Naftkhana, eastern Diyala province, killing two militiamen and wounding five more.

The PMF media office tweeted a 30-second video of the ensuing gun battle, saying its fighters defeated a “massive Daesh attack”.


Declared territorially defeated in December 2017, ISIS militants have since returned to their earlier hit-and-run guerrilla tactics. 

Sunday night’s duel assault come just two days after ISIS militants launched similar surprise attacks in Diyala’s Kolajo sub-district, killing a Peshmerga commander and two of his soldiers. 

Located in Kifri, south of Kirkuk, Kolajo has been attacked by ISIS sleeper cells multiple times. It is regarded as a disputed area between both Erbil and Baghdad.

The disputed territories have become a hotspot for ISIS activity amid a security vacuum.

Concern over the revival of the terror group has increased since the start of Operation Peace Spring in Syria, which has seen ISIS militants break out of prisons run by Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and flee across the shared border.

A number of suspected ISIS fighters were arrested at the Iraq-Syria border last month, prompting the deployment of additional Iraqi troops to boost security. 

The latest Pentagon inspector general report covering July 1 to Oct 25 said ISIS has continued to cement and expand its command and control structure in Iraq, enabling the group to stage more attacks.

“ISIS in Iraq conducted both attacks of opportunity, such as improvised bombs and hit-and-run attacks, and attacks designed to intimidate or gain influence, such as assassinations, kidnappings, and sniper attacks,” the report read, citing the Combined Joint Task Force–OIR (CJTF-OIR) which leads the fights against ISIS.

According to CJTF-OIR, 124 clearance operations were conducted against ISIS during the reporting period, in which Iraqi forces killed approximately 13 ISIS fighters and captured 123.

“Diyala province and areas of southeastern Nineveh province, in particular, experienced increased ISIS activity, while ISIS activity in Anbar, Kirkuk, and Salah ad Din provinces had subsided,” the report said.