Mobilization Forces location comes under fire in central Baghdad

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) A checkpoint belonging to Iraqi paramilitary forces became under a mortar bombardment, with no casualties reported, the Interior Ministry said on Thursday.

Minister Qassen al-Aaraji said caravans belonging to the Popular Mobilization Forces in Jadiriya, central Baghdad, became under a mortar shelling. He said the source of the missiles was Rassafa region.

Eyewitnesses and photos published by the Interior Ministry’s media revealed that the bombardment had caused huge fires.

Mobilization forces were formed in 2014 as per an edict by Iraq’s top Shia clergy to combat Islamic State extremists who had taken over a third of Iraq in the same year after the collapse of the government forces.

Violence and armed conflicts left 297 Iraqis dead and wounded during the month of ِAugust, according to a monthly count by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq which excludes security members deaths. Baghdad was the most affected province with 45 deaths and 135 injuries.

The Iraqi capital has seen almost daily bombings and armed attacks against security members, paramilitary troops and civilians since the Iraqi government launched a wide-scale campaign to retake Islamic State-occupied areas in 2016. While most of of the explosions and attacks went without a claim of responsibility, Islamic State has claimed several incidents.

Some security observers believe that even after IS’s main havens across Iraqi provinces are conquered, the group may still constitute a security threat through sleeper cells and lone wolf attacks.