Military operation launched to pursue IS militants between Diyala, Baghdad
Iraqi Special Forces
Baghdad (Iraqinews.com) – A wide-scale military operation was launched to pursuit Islamic State remnants in the areas between Diyala and Baghdad, a military commander said.
“Joint troops, backed by Iraqi warplanes, have carried out a military operation targeting IS remnants stationed in the areas between Diyala and Baghdad governorates,” Commander of the Tigris Operations Lieutenant General Mezher al-Azzawi told Alghad Press on Tuesday.
“The troops started their mission from Buhriz and Kanaan districts south of Diyala and will continue till the outskirts of Baghdad,” Azzawi said, adding that the operation comes as part of his command’s efforts to reinforce security in these areas.
“The troops will comb all recently-liberated areas between Diyala and Baghdad in search for any IS remnant,” he pointed out.
A similar security campaign was launched on Monday, under the supervision of the Maysan operations command, to apprehend outlaws and drug dealers in the governorate.
The clampdown, which included joint troops from outside the governorate, is also meant to settle tribal disputes, take weapons from citizens and arrest rioters in the governorate.
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 3 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 in Iraq 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.
Earlier this month, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared final victory over Islamic State three years after the militant group captured about a third of Iraq’s territory.