TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iraq army troops and local police forces in Diyala province launched a joint counterterrorism operation targeting remnants of ISIS in the eastern parts of the country.
In a statement on Saturday, security forces said the Iraq Army and the Diyala Police Directorate were conducting raids against ISIS in southern Bahriz, al-Masdar news agency reported.
Bahriz is a town in the eastern province of Diyala located about ten kilometers south of Baqubah, the provincial capital, and 40 kilometers north of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.
The statement added that the goal of the operation is to implement “orders to arrest the wanted and prosecute the remnants” of the ISIS Takfiri terrorist group, “as well as strengthening security and stability there.”
It further said the details of the operation would be announced later.
ISIS has intensified its attacks in Iraq amid Baghdad’s call on the US to pull out its forces from the Arab country.
In a vote on January 5, the Iraqi parliament called for an end to the presence of all foreign troops, including Americans.
The vote came two days after the US military – acting on US President Donald Trump’s order – launched a fatal drone strike on senior Iranian anti-terror commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani upon his arrival in the Iraqi capital at the invitation of the Baghdad government.
The attack also claimed the lives of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the second-in-command of the PMU, and eight other Iranian and Iraqi people.
Washington has threatened sanctions should US troops be expelled instead of heeding the Iraqi parliament’s call to end the occupation of the country.
- source : Tasnim, Irannews
