ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Iraqi security forces on Wednesday morning launched a large-scale operation from headquarters in Kirkuk amid a recent uptick in Islamic State (ISIS) attacks.
The operation was a multi-pronged attack, according to Yehia Rasool, the spokesperson for the Iraqi commander-in-chief. The 8th Division and Brigade 45, accompanied by special forces and a reconnaissance regiment, were given the mission to inspect Kirkuk’s Wadi al-Shay area.
The Fifth Division of the Iraqi army, federal police and a special brigade searched and pursued ISIS members in Wadi Zighatoon.
A third group of forces set out to search for remnants of ISIS around the village of al-Sada and certain other villages.
Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) Spokesperson Wayne Marotto said the operation aims to provide “a safe & stable region for the people of Iraq.”
Kirkuk has been a hotspot for ISIS staged offenses in recent weeks with reported strikes against oil fields and attacks against Peshmerga and Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF or Hashid al-Shaabi). The Iraqi Intelligence Agency announced the arrest of six ISIS terrorists in Kirkuk on Wednesday.
Diyala, Salahaddin and Nineveh provinces are also considered vulnerable to ISIS interference, possibly due to local security vacuums where neither Iraqi nor Kurdish forces are present.
ISIS seized control of major sections of Iraq and Syria in 2014. The terrorist organization was declared militarily defeated in 2019 but supporters of the militant group remain and continue to carry out attacks.
