Iraq
A picture taken in a village in the Hawi al-Azim area, in the eastern Diyala province on January 24, 2022 during preparations for a military operation. Photo: Ahmad al-Rubaye/ AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Members of the Islamic State (ISIS) group in Iraq are unable to traverse in large groups and must rely on moving individually, an official from Iraq's Security Media Cell told state media on Thursday.
"Military operations have been continuing since last Sunday in various locations, starting with Diyala, Salahaddin, and Samarra, and today we began in northern Muqdadiyah in Diyala," said Major General Saad Maan, head of the Security Media Cell, describing areas in which ISIS remains a threat.
Maan said these operations were being conducted by teams from the Iraqi army, the Ministry of Interior, and the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF or Hashd al-Shaabi).
"These operations succeeded in achieving their goals, reinforced by the presence of security leaders on the ground, and have so far resulted in the killings of a number of terrorists, the destruction of ISIS hideouts, and the strengthening of fortifications in the areas of operations," he added.
Maan also noted that the war on ISIS has transitioned into a guerilla war, with small skirmishes here and there. He claimed that the size of ISIS remnants are being blown out of proportion.
"They [ISIS] are trying to establish a presence in the areas of Khanukah, Mutaibija, and Jallab in Salahaddin, Qarachogh and southern Makhmour in Nineveh, Wadi al-Shay and Zghitun in Kirkuk, and Hawi al-Azim in Diyala," noted the general.
Last Friday, a deadly ISIS attack on an Iraqi base in Hawi al-Azim, Diyala killed 11 soldiers. It is the deadliest ISIS attack on the Iraqi army in 2022 thus far.
Touching on the situation in Syria, where ISIS militants detained in al-Sina'a prison in Hasaka attempted a large-scale prison break, Maan reassured that there is adequate security at the Iraq-Syria border. He says the area has been reenforced and the utilization of drones has contributed greatly to thwarting any potential threats.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Wednesday declared victory in the standoff with ISIS. Thousands of prisoners were recaptured and fighting was halted, and 181 people were killed as a result of the fighting.
ISIS seized control of swathes 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. ISIS remnants are particularly active in parts of northern Iraq that are disputed by Erbil and Baghdad, including in the provinces of Kirkuk, Diyala, and Salahaddin.
The terror group launched over 257 offensives, killing 387 and injuring 518 people, including Iraqi and Kurdish fighters over the past year.
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