Joint troops repulse Islamic State attack, east of Diyala
Islamic State militants. File photo.
Speaking to AlSumaria News on Tuesday, Ragheb al-Ankabi, head of al-Mansouria municipal council, said, “checkpoints of the joint security troops deployed at villages of Shirwin basin region noticed an infiltration attempt by three Islamic State militants.”
The troops, according to Ankabi, controlled the situation and started operations to follow the militants.
Earlier this month, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory over the militant group, however, observers warn that the group still poses a security threat with sleeper cells.
Thousands of IS militants as well as Iraqi civilians were killed since Iraqi forces, backed by a U.S-led coalition, launched an offensive to clear IS-held regions in 2016.
Iraqi forces, backed by a U.S.-led coalition and paramilitary troops, have been fighting since October 2016 to retake territories Islamic State had occupied. Since then, forces took back the group’s former capital, Mosul, the town of Tal Afar, Kirkuk’s Hawija, and Anbar’s Annah, Rawa and Qaim.
The war against IS has displaced at least five million people. Thousands others fled towards neighboring countries including Syria, Turkey and other European countries, since IS emerged to proclaim its self-styled “caliphate”.