UNIPATH STAFF
During ongoing operations to eliminate Daesh remnants, Iraqi security forces seized weapons and explosives the terrorists intended to use on Iraqi citizens.
Iraqi forces captured 75 anti-aircraft missiles in Al Anbar governorate that Daesh planned to convert to improvised explosive devices and vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices.
The operation in early 2021 resulted in the arrest of a wanted terrorist nicknamed Abu Al-Yemaan, a member of what Daesh called its Raptors Division.
In an earlier military action a month earlier, members of the Iraqi National Security Agency killed Daesh’s logistical officer in Diyala governorate. He had been resisting capture while wearing a suicide vest.
About the same time in Kirkuk governorate, detachments of the Iraqi Intelligence Agency arrested four terrorists affiliated with Daesh.
Iraqi forces received assistance from U.S.-led coalition airstrikes on Daesh hideouts in the Hamrin Mountains that killed two more Daesh leaders.
Iraqi security forces regularly conduct operations to track down Daesh remnants in mountains and deserts in Diyala, Kirkuk, Nineveh, Salah al-Din and Al Anbar, from which terrorists launch attacks on nearby cities and highway security checkpoints.
While pursuing these Daesh holdouts in the northern and western sections of the country, Iraqi security forces track down criminals and confiscate weapons in Baghdad and southern governorates.
In September 2020, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces Mustafa Al-Kazemi ordered the multiphased operation Sincere Pledge in Basra governorate. The aim was to confiscate weapons unsuited for personal use such as mortars, heavy machine guns and anti-aircraft guns.
“These operations will bring about security and stability to the governorate that all Iraqis will soon sense,” then Basra Operations Commander Maj. Gen. Akram Saddam Midnif said. Sources: Iraqi Ministry of Defense, elaph.com