Nineveh operations strike at ISIS again as international coalition returns

Mohammed Abdul Ghaffar

A state of relief had prevailed around the world after former Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had announced in July 2017 that his country’s forces were victorious in the battle of Mosul and put an end to ISIS after three years under the terrorist organization’s control, but some of ISIS pockets still harass Iraqi forces.

ISIS destroyed about 5,000 buildings, including 490 buildings in the old city of Mosul, from June 2014 to July 2017, according to official data released by the United Nations.

Despite the official announcement that ISIS’s geographic presence in Iraq had ended, some of its pockets still have sufficient strength to attack security points in the country.

Targeting checkpoints

ISIS also targeted checkpoints belonging to the Tribal Mobilization Forces and the Iraqi Security Forces in Diyala Governorate in two successive attacks in early May 2020.

At the same time, the terrorist organization launched a military attack targeting pro-Iranian militias in the Jurf Al-Sakhr region south of Baghdad, resulting in a number of dead and wounded.

In April, ISIS launched successive attacks in the areas between Kirkuk, Salahuddin and Diyala governorates, which resulted in dozens Iraqi security forces killed or wounded, in addition to the destruction of electricity towers in Kirkuk.

The commander of Norway’s military forces in Iraq, Lieutenant-Colonel Stein Grongstad, said on May 13 that ISIS operatives were hiding in agricultural areas, where it is difficult to track and target them, so they succeed in attacking Iraqi forces and then return to their hideouts again.

New commander to confront ISIS

After new Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kazemi was approved by the parliament, he placed the issue of confronting ISIS as his top priority, which was reflected in his selection of a new commander for the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service, Abdul Wahab al-Saadi, with a promise to provide the newest types of weapons and equipment to the Iraqi army forces.

Saadi’s selection to lead the Counter-Terrorism Service came after he played an important role in liberating the governorates of Nineveh, Anbar, and Salahuddin in northern and western Iraq from ISIS control.

In his first press statements after taking office, Saadi indicated that his forces would focus mainly on confronting ISIS, especially in the northern and western regions such as Salahuddin, Kirkuk and Mosul, as there are indications of terrorists gathering in these places.

New operation

In the first practical implementation by the new commander, the Nineveh Operations Command, affiliated to the Iraqi army, announced the launch of a new expanded security operation to hunt ISIS operatives south of Mosul.

The commander of the Nineveh operations, Major General Numan al-Zobaie, told the German news agency (DPA) that the operation was launched at dawn on May 14 and aims to eliminate ISIS in the villages of Qayyarah and the villages on the banks of the Tigris River south of Mosul, such as Zour Kanous.

Zobaie explained that joint forces from the army and police carried out raids in various villages to search for ISIS pockets. As a result, 21 terrorists were arrested and large amounts of weapons and equipment were confiscated.

ISIS militants tried to infiltrate the city of Samarra in Salahuddin Governorate in northern Iraq, but the security forces succeeded in thwarting the operation and the terrorist elements fled.

The Iraqi military operation comes hours after the US-led international coalition carried out air strikes against ISIS locations on Thursday, May 14.

This strike is the first of its kind since the international coalition forces withdrew from Iraqi bases in April 2020. According to a statement issued by the coalition forces, French aircraft launched air strikes targeting the village of Mazirir, located in the Hawija district of Kirkuk Governorate in northern Iraq.