ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraqi forces and the Peshmerga on Saturday launched a joint security operation to clear out Islamic State (ISIS) remnants in Nineveh province, a senior military official told Rudaw, as the militant group remains a serious security threat.
The operation’s main focus is in the areas of Kashaf al-Ulya and Kashaf al-Sufla south of Mosul where ISIS is active, spokesperson for Joint Operations Command Major General Tahsin al-Khafaji told Rudaw’s Hawar Jalaladin.
Around 150 to 200 members of the group are present in the area, he added.
ISIS seized control of swaths of land in Iraq in 2014. The group was declared territorially defeated in 2017, but it continues to carry out bombings, hit-and-run attacks, and abductions across several provinces. The militants have taken shelter in a security vacuum in areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad, stretching across several provinces including Kirkuk, Salahaddin, and Diyala.
Erbil and Baghdad are in protracted talks to cooperate in these areas. Last month, the deputy Peshmerga minister said a joint brigade would be formed after Iraq’s October 10 election. Khafaji described Saturday’s operation as their “first” in this area of Nineveh.
Iraq’s Security Media Cell announced the start of the operation earlier Saturday morning. It is expected to end in the next “two hours,” according to Khafaji who was optimistic about the outcome.
Sirwan Barzani, commander of Peshmerga forces’ Gwer-Makhmour front said in a tweet late Saturday evening that "All ISIS cells were neutralised in a joint operation by the Peshmerga, Coalition Forces, and Iraqi Army", explaining that the joint operations were necessary to end the actions of the terrorist group.
The US will withdraw its combat troops by the end of the year as the coalition formally shifts its mission focus to advising and assisting Iraqi forces. In its most recent quarterly report, the Pentagon expressed concern about Iraqi capabilities, saying their security forces made “no significant achievement” in carrying out operations independent of the coalition’s assistance between the months of July and September.
However, Iraqi forces “continue to develop their capabilities and processes,” it added.
ISIS has carried out several deadly attacks recently.
The group attacked the Peshmerga forces on the Erbil-Kirkuk border three times in the past week. The forces repelled two of the attacks and the coalition described their Iraqi and Peshmerga partners as “strong and successful against Daesh [ISIS],” but two Kurdish soldiers were killed in one incident.
ISIS also claimed responsibility for a bloody attack in Diyala province where it killed at least 15 people and injured a dozen more.
Updated at 10:15 pm
