Iraqi forces targets Islamic State sleeper cells
Iraqi army units, backed by the international coalition and with the participation of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), continue to target ISIS terrorists in three governorates: Nineveh, Salaheddine, and al-Anbar on the Iraqi border with Syria.
The Ministry of Defense issued a statement announcing that the military operation dubbed “Will of Victory” would continue under the supervision of the Joint Operations Command, indicating that the island’s operations command was able to destroy two terrorist sites and two explosive devices.
Nineveh operations command added that the air force succeeded in killing three terrorists inside a vehicle, asserting the operation will continue until achieving all of its objectives.
Meanwhile, the Popular Mobilization Forces confirmed the participation of about 13 brigades in “Will of Victory”, less than a week after Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi announced a plan to restructure the PMF within the Defense Ministry’s military forces.
The PMF issued a statement saying their forces and security forces developed a plan to maintain the security and stability of the region after its liberation from ISIS remnants.
In Diyala, the provincial police command announced the implementation of a security operation in Balad Ruz district within operation “Will of Victory”.
A statement issued a statement saying the joint security forces from Diyala’s second, fourth, and seventh emergency brigades, the SWAT Brigade, and the Balad Ruz police department carried out a security operation in a number of areas south of the district.
The statement added that the security forces will search a number of villages under the operation command to target the terrorists and prevent them from finding safe havens in these areas.
It is noteworthy that the international coalition air force participates heavily in this operation, whether through providing logistical support or coordinates of the terrorists’ locations, making it easier for the Iraqi forces to target them.
The coalition’s participation in an operation involving the PMF comes at a time when the forces refuse US presence in Iraq, saying they support ISIS.
ISIS does not threaten the national security, but threatens the border and remote areas, National Security Professor at al-Nahrain University Hussein Allawi told Asharq al-Awsat.
Nineveh MP Ahmad al-Jarba warned that Mosul and Iraq’s security, in general, is in danger if the government does not permanently address the security issues of western Nineveh regions and west of Mosul.
Source: Aawsat
