Iraqi army begins the eighth phase of anti-Islamic State ‘Will of Victory’ operation

The Iraqi military announced on Sunday the eighth phase of its “Will of Victory” operation against remnants of the so-called Islamic State in multiple areas where the terrorist organization has upped an insurgency campaign.

The latest campaign seeks to target the sleeper cells of the terrorist organization from five different “axes” in Iraq, including the operations commands of Salahuddin, Diyala, Kirkuk, Nineveh, and Jazira – a region that mostly lies in Nineveh province next to the Syrian border – a statement from the Iraqi Joint Operations Command said.

It explained further that the national air force as well as Coalition aircraft, fighting units of the Tribal Mobilization Forces, and the Iraqi security and intelligence entities.

The command center said the security forces aim to search and clear these areas of members of the Islamic State, which Iraq declared victory over in December 2017.

The terrorist organization, however, continues to launch regular attacks, including bombings, kidnappings, and ambushes against Iraqi security forces, Kurdish forces, and civilians in areas liberated from its control as well as in major cities it never took over, such as Baghdad and Kirkuk.

Recent unrest in Iraq in the form of widespread protests have slowed anti-Islamic State operations over the past three months. The terrorist group appears to have taken advantage of the situation and has carried out attacks with increasing regularity.

Last week, members of the group attacked a local security forces unit near an oil plant in the disputed Kirkuk province, killing one member of the Energy Police, according to initial reports.

In a separate incident in Salahuddin province, a roadside bomb reportedly exploded on a security forces patrol, killing two members and injuring three others. Further details were not immediately clear.

On Friday, four other members of the Energy Police, which are in charge of protecting Iraq’s energy infrastructure, were killed in an attack by an Islamic State suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest in the town of Baiji, northwest of Tikrit.

In another attack, the group reportedly killed a family of five at a fake checkpoint on the main Kirkuk – Tikrit road.

Source: Kurdistan 24