ISIS conducts new round of attacks in Iraq

03-05-2020
Lawk Ghafuri
Lawk Ghafuri
A+ A-
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Islamic State (ISIS) militants conducted multiple attacks on several locations in Iraq late Sunday, according to the Popular Mobilization Forces’ (PMF) media department.

The PMF, also known as Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic, claims that ISIS militants attacked Hashd al-Shaabi units in eastern Saladin province, as well as in the town of Jurf al-Nasr, southwest of Baghdad, separately late Sunday.

Jurf al-Nasr, formerly known as Jurf al-Sakhir, is a town in the province of Babil, sixty kilometers southwest of Baghdad.

“ISIS militants were attempting to enter Babil province through Jurf al-Nasr. However, their attack was foiled by the Hashd al-Shaabi units,” tweeted the PMF, a predominantly Shiite paramilitary network, late Sunday.  

In another tweet, Hashd al-Shaabi claimed that their units “repelled” an attack by ISIS militants in eastern Saladin province late Sunday. 

Although the Iraqi government announced the territorial defeat of ISIS in Iraq in December 2017, remnants of the group have returned to their earlier insurgency tactics, ambushing security forces, kidnapping and executing suspected informants, and extorting money from vulnerable  rural populations.

ISIS insurgent activities have increased in recent weeks, with militants killing three federal police officers and wounding two others in an attack on Zaghniya police station in Diyala province on late Saturday.  

ISIS militants also carried out multiple attacks against Iraqi security forces early Saturday in Saladin province, killing ten  members of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), also known as Hashd  al-Shaabi. It was ISIS’s biggest attack in Iraq since its territorial  defeat.  

Iraqi Defense Minister Najah al-Shammari vowed last week to “ramp up” anti-ISIS efforts.  

Despite Iraq’s coronavirus lockdown measures and the US-led coalition’s withdrawal from several bases across Iraq, the ISF has stepped up its operations against ISIS remnants active in the country’s remote deserts and mountains.

Between January 1 and April 15, the ISF carried out 1,060 operations  and killed 135 ISIS targets, defense ministry spokesperson Yehia  Rasool said on April 21.
 

Comments

Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.

To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.

We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.

Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.

Post a comment

Required
Required
 

The Latest

A census worker preparing to register the information of a family in Soran, Erbil province. Photo: Karwan Mahmoud/Rudaw

Population census begins across Iraq, Kurdistan Region

The widely anticipated population census began across Iraq and the Kurdistan Region on Wednesday, with officials calling on citizens to cooperate with the process.