Iraq is concerned it could be dragged into a new proxy war if tensions between Iran and the US escalate further. As a result, Baghdad is in danger of getting distracted from the urgent task of eliminating the ISIS threat, Wilks warned.
“In the past week when I have sat with the prime minister and the president and the relevant ministers to discuss the regional and international situation. I have also said let us not lose the focus on Daesh because Daesh is still a threat to the stability and security of Iraq,” Wilks said, using the Arabic acronym for ISIS.
British Ambassador to Iraq Jon Wilks calls for continued focus on combatting Da’esh and confirms UK support to Iraq on this issue,
— UK in Iraq 🇬🇧🇮🇶 (@UKinIraq) May 29, 2019
for more details watch full video: pic.twitter.com/MLncpFUdDQ
“It has returned to a certain extent and the number of operations has increased to a certain extent,” he said, calling for reforms to Iraq’s security sector.
“I also said that the campaign against Daesh isn’t just security and military. It must be a comprehensive campaign that includes political and economic and social and humanitarian elements,” he added.
The UK is a key member of the global anti-ISIS coalition, which has armed and trained local forces and provided air support.
ISIS remnants, supported by sophisticated sleeper cells, have returned to their earlier insurgency tactics since their territorial defeat in December 2017.
The number of attacks has increased in recent months, particularly in the disputed territories between federal and Peshmerga lines, where militants are exploiting security gaps.
ISIS has devised a new tactic of setting fire to crops, targeting Iraq’s weak domestic food supply.
Since last Friday, ten people have been killed and ten more injured in ISIS suicide attacks in Saladin and Nineveh.
Iraqi security forces have stepped up operations in these areas.
Iraq’s elite counterterrorism forces carried out an airborne raid in a district southwest of Mosul on Wednesday, killing 14 ISIS militants, according to Iraq’s Security Media Cell.
The raid targeted an ISIS hideout in the Hatra district of southwest Mosul.
Graphic: Maps4news, Sarkawt Mohammed / Rudaw
“Fourteen terrorists, including suicide bombers and leaders, [have been] killed in a clash following an airborne raid carried out by a special unit of the heroes of the Counterterrorism Forces in coordination with the aviation of the international coalition,” it said.
Army Aviation forces also killed 10 “terrorists” on Tuesday in Saladin province, the cell added.
The Iraqi Army recently conducted military operations against ISIS remnants in the Hamrin Mountains.
A recent US Department of Defense report warns Iraqi forces are failing to keep pace with the group’s evolution.
