Arrest made in Abu Ghraib

Iraq’s counter-terrorism forces destroy ISIS hideouts in Diyala, Salah Al-Din

2024-08-19 | 18:29

NEWSROOM — The Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service destroyed several Islamic State hideouts and caves in Diyala, Salah Al-Din, and north of Baghdad, and arrested a suspected terrorist during separate operations on Sunday.

According to a statement from the Iraq’s Security Media Cell, “Based on accurate intelligence information, heroes from the Counter-Terrorism Service carried out a wide-scale search campaign that included the governorates of Salah al-Din and Diyala, as well as the district of Tarmiyah [in Baghdad]. The campaign resulted in the destruction and demolition of several hideouts and caves belonging to Daesh terrorist gangs.” Daesh is the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State terror group.

The Islamic State, which declared a caliphate after seizing vast territories in Iraq and Syria in 2014, was territorially defeated in Iraq in 2017 by Iraqi forces and the Peshmerga, supported by a U.S.-led coalition. However, despite significant military defeats, including losing its final stronghold in Syria in 2019 to U.S.-backed Kurdish forces, remnants of the group continue to pose a threat.

In a separate operation, counter-terrorism forces apprehended a suspected ISIS member in the Abu Ghraib district, located west of the capital, Baghdad.

The statement emphasized that security forces continue to conduct “daily operations” to track down and eliminate remnants of terrorist cells across all areas under their responsibility.

On the anniversary of the Speicher Massacre, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani remarked on the reduced threat from terrorist groups, crediting national security forces with diminishing their presence. “Our heroic security forces have repeatedly defeated them, reducing their gangs to scattered remnants that no longer threaten our nation’s security,” he said.

Despite such declarations, attacks persist. In mid-July, three days of clashes between Iraqi security forces and Islamic State militants in Khan Bani Saad, Diyala governorate, left six security personnel dead and several others injured.

Additional incidents in Salah Al-Din governorate and other regions underscore ongoing challenges. On May 14, an attack killed an army officer and four soldiers. A week later, a vehicle bombing near Suleiman Beg resulted in one death and four injuries. Another attack the following day killed five family members on the Baiji-Haditha Road in Anbar governorate, which officials attribute to newly planted improvised explosive devices.

A United Nations report from January highlighted that between 3,000 and 5,000 ISIS fighters remain active across Iraq and Syria, posing a significant security challenge. U.S. Central Command warned on July 16 that ISIS was “attempting to reconstitute” in Iraq and Syria and that the number of his attacks was almost doubled from the attacks last year.