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.
