At dawn on Friday, the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) launched an operation dubbed “Revenge of the Martyrs” in three provinces: Baghdad, Anbar, and Kirkuk and “neutralized a number of terrorists,” tweeted Yehia Rasool, spokesperson for Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.
“Those arrested are linked to Daesh [ISIS] gang networks and have good information about the leaders of these terrorist networks,” he stated.
In an open-air market in Baghdad on Thursday, two suicide bombers detonated explosive belts, killing at least 32 people and injuring more than 100.
The attack, after several years of calm in Baghdad, has exposed flaws in Iraq’s security forces, strained under the coronavirus pandemic, tensions between allies Iran and the United States, and political turmoil.
Hours after the suicide bombings, Kadhimi had an emergency meeting with his security team and ordered a reshuffling, moving five senior commanders out of their posts.
But the people of Baghdad are afraid of a return to near-daily suicide attacks and bombings.
