Islamic State launches attack on Iraq-Syria border killing and wounding four people

The so-called Islamic State launched an attack early Thursday against an Iraqi border police headquarters at the Iraq-Syria border, killing two people and wounding two others.

Iraq’s security media cell said in a statement that “terrorist elements” attacked “the third regiment in the fourth border police brigade within the Iraqi-Syrian borders, which resulted in the death of two associates and the wounding of two others.”

The statement did not provide further details but noted that “the security forces are conducting a search operation” for the militants responsible.

The attack occurred despite tight security measures imposed by the Iraqi forces on the border to prevent the infiltration of Islamic State fighters from neighboring Syria.

The Islamic State seems to be encouraged by the escalating US-Iran tensions in the region as the terror group continues to launch attacks and attempts to re-establish a foothold in Iraq.

Elsewhere, on Thursday, Iraqi security forces carried out their first military operation since the US-led coalition announced the suspension of operations in Iraq.

The operation was launched in the town of Tarmiyah, located north of Baghdad, which recently witnessed violence linked to the so-called Islamic State.

On Sunday, the US-led Coalition against the Islamic State announced it was suspending operations against the terrorist group to focus on ensuring the security of the military bases in Iraq from which its troops operate.

The decision came after tensions between the US and Iran increased following a US drone strike last week on a convoy near the Baghdad airport killed Qasim Soleimani, long-time head of the Quds Force, the paramilitary arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard.

Source: Kurdistan