Iraq intensifies operations against ISIS by targeting incubators

Mohamed Shaat

The Iraqi government continues to launch intensive campaigns against ISIS, targeting its hideouts in several provinces, according to several axes targeting the comprehensive blockade.

Among the strategies of the Iraqi government against ISIS is information warfare and the arrest of elements that provide the organization with information. The latest of these operations was announced by the Security Media Cell regarding the arrest of an ISIS member who was providing the terrorist organization with information about the presence and movements of the security forces and the transportation of foodstuffs to the organization in Kirkuk.

Strength of ISIS in Iraq

A UN Security Council report in February revealed the strength of ISIS in Iraq and the number of its members, indicating that the organization has about 500 fighters and that it has between 5,000-7,000 members and supporters spread between Iraq and Syria.

According to the report, after Iraq declared victory over the extremist organization in 2017, ISIS members are now active in rural and remote areas of the country and launch sporadic attacks.

In previous statements, the deputy head of the Joint Operations Command that regulates the cooperation of the Iraqi security forces with the international coalition, Lieutenant General Qais al-Muhammadawi, said that according to all intelligence agencies and according to accurate information, the total number of the organization’s elements does not exceed 400 to 500 fighters in three or four provinces.

Knights of Truth

Last March, the head of the Counter-Terrorism Service, Lieutenant General Abd al-Wahhab al-Saadi, said that Operation Farsan al-Haq (Knights of Truth) targeted an important camp that included ISIS leaders and directed the organization’s detachments in the provinces. A UN Security Council report noted that despite the Iraqi efforts to combat terrorism, which succeeded in killing approximately 150 ISIS members in 2022, the organization is still active.

Targeting incubators

Dr. Anmar al-Droubi, an Iraqi researcher in the affairs of extremist groups, said in exclusive statements to the Reference that the Iraqi government is undoubtedly seeking to use new mechanisms to confront the ISIS threat, specifically in the provinces of Kirkuk and Diyala, especially in the Hamrin Mountains, which are considered incubators for the organization.

He pointed out that that region witnessed an escalation of ISIS attacks during the month of December last year, as the victims of those attacks included nearly 30 Iraqi citizens, both dead and wounded, both military and civilians. Therefore, the Iraqi government, headed by Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, issued a set of directives to security leaders against the backdrop of the recent series of ISIS attacks in Diyala, Kirkuk and other areas.

Droubi stressed the importance of targeting the incubators, pointing out that in light of the survival of the ISIS incubators in Kirkuk and Diyala, the organization will continue to carry out terrorist operations. He noted that there was a failure on the part of the Iraqi state at the beginning, which was reactionary, meaning that it did not activate its intelligence and security services and did not take preemptive strikes instead of just reacting.