TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iraqi security forces have begun large-scale military operations to purse the ISIS terrorists after several attacks by the group on the country’s security forces.
The military operations came in response to the recent attacks launched by the terrorist organization in a number of Iraqi regions, in which security forces and fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) lost their lives, according to Asharq Al-Awsat.
According to the semi-official Al-Iraqiya TV channel, the operations were launched in line with orders by the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and focused on the outskirts of Salahuddin Province and west of Diyala and Anbar Provinces.
In another development, the Al-Mayadeen news network reported on Sunday that PMU volunteer forces’ 21st Brigade thwarted an ISIS assault on the Al-Eith region of the eastern Salahuddin Province, Press TV reported.
The PMU’s 47th Brigade also repelled an ISIS operation in the Jurf al-Sakhar region in the central Babil Province, resulting in one PMU casualty.
Another attack in the eastern Diyala Province, however, lead to five casualties among the country’s pro-government tribal units, according to a security official.
Earlier on Sunday, an ISIS operation seeking to infiltrate the central Karbala Province from the western Anbar Province was forced to retreat with casualties following the intervention of Iraqi security services.
Iraqi forces also launched numerous raids on ISIS terror cells on Sunday.
Four terrorists were killed after PMU artillery units targeted ISIS elements east of the city of Tikrit in Salahuddin.
Another four terrorists were captured in the northern Kirkuk Province.
Separate Iraqi security operations also led to the arrests of two prominent ISIS figures in the northern Nineveh Province.
The spike in terror and anti-terror operations comes after at least 10 PMU fighters were killed in a coordinated attack in the cities of Mekeeshfa and Balad in the Salahuddin Province in an ISIS raid on Saturday.
The engagements mark the latest of an increasing string of ISIS sleeper cell attacks in the past few weeks, usually concentrated between the provinces of Salahuddin, Kirkuk, and Diyala.
The uptick in ISIS operations has happened nearly simultaneously with Washington’s latest string of airstrikes openly targeting PMU forces, which are formally part of the Iraqi security forces.
- source : Iran Daily, Irannews
