Daesh sleeper cells receive crushing blows by Iraqi forces

Iraqi forces deliver heavy blows to remnants of the ISIS terrorist group in the country, with counter-terrorism efforts by the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) or Hashd al-Sha’abi facilitating the process.
The forces faced the Daesh terrorists in the eastern Iraqi
Diyala Province, Nineveh and al-Anbar Provinces in the country’s west, and
Salahuddin Province that is located between them.
Daesh sleeper cell crushed in Diyala
On Sunday, Talib al-Mousavi, who’s the commander of the PMU
in Diyala, stated that the anti-terror force had managed to break apart the
largest remaining Daesh network in the province.
He described the operation in Khanaqin District as a
preemptive strike that neutralized plans by the terrorists to target civilians
in Diyala.
According to the commander, a number of the terrorists were
killed and large quantities of armaments and other military equipment were
seized during the operation.
Additionally, forces enlisted with the Iraqi Police force arrested
two “senior” Daesh members in Nineveh Province.
Reporting the development on Saturday, the Interior Ministry
stated that the operation took place in Zummar District, located 60 kilometers (37
miles) northwest of Mosul, the province’s capital.
Iraqi security forces were also able to neutralize a
terrorist cell comprised of 15 Daesh terrorists throughout Nineveh’s various regions,
the National Security Department reported.
Major General Yahya Rasoul, a military spokesman for Iraqi
Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, meanwhile, announced the destruction of as
many as six Daesh hideouts in the al-Anbar region.
The operation which recruited the military, the army
aviation, the air force, as well as tribal Hashd forces also led to the
discovery and disposal of five explosive devices.
Also on Saturday, an intelligence official announced that
six ISIS terrorists had been arrested in Salahuddin Province’s holy city of
Samarra.
Daesh appeared in Iraq in 2014 amid the chaos and ruin that
had come about as a result of the US invasion of the Arab country.
A bloated US-led coalition started supposedly targeting the
terror outfit in Iraq during the same year, yet was found to be functioning
surprisingly slow in dealing with the terrorists.
Daesh soon swept up large swathes of Iraqi territory, causing
Baghdad to solicit its ally Iran’s military advisory help. The joint
anti-terror push, in which Hashd al-Sha’abi played a significant role, defeated
Daesh in late 2017.
The group’s remnants, nevertheless, keep staging sporadic
attacks throughout Iraq, mainly in the above-mentioned provinces.
On Monday, Daesh attacked an army post in Baghdad, causing
the death of 11 people, including Hashd’s members, and wounding eight other
people.
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