Iraqi troops destroy eight Islamic State hideouts in Diyala
Paramilitary fighters and military vehicles are seen during a military operation to retake positions held by Islamic State militants, on the outskirts of Muqdadiyah in Diyala province, north of Baghdad January 25, 2015. Picture taken January 25, 2015. REUTERS
Diyala (Iraqinews.com) – Iraqi troops destroyed on Wednesday eight hotbeds of the terrorist Islamic State group and detonated 29 explosive charges in Diyala.
“All the explosives, including 21 bombs and eight explosive belts, were detonated at the site with no damage reported,” Iraqi website Alghad Press quoted Spokesman for the Iraqi Security Media Council Brig. Gen. Yehia Rasool as saying.
Violence in the country has surged further with the emergence of Islamic State extremist militants who proclaimed an “Islamic Caliphate” in Iraq and Syria in 2014.
The surge in violence between armed groups and government forces has resulted in over five million internally displaced persons across Iraq and left more than 11 million in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Iraq declared the collapse of Islamic State’s territorial influence earlier in November with the recapture of Rawa, a city on Anbar’s western borders with Syria, which was the group’s last bastion in Iraq.
IS declared a self-styled “caliphate” in a third of Iraq and neighboring Syria in 2014. A government campaign, backed by a U.S.-led international coalition and paramilitary forces, was launched in 2016 to retake IS-held regions, managing to retake all havens, most notably the city of Mosul, the group’s previously proclaimed capital.