ON ISIS ACTIVITIES IN IRAQ
In October 2022, Daesh militants (also known as the Islamic State terrorist group, banned in Russia) kept attacking in various parts of Iraq.
According to the Iraqi authorities, more than 150 active Daesh supporters, including dozens of field commanders, have been eliminated by the Iraqi Air Force since the beginning of this year. It was officially stated that Daesh in Iraq “lost the ability to control the remnants of its forces as a result of a series of precision air strikes on Daesh hideouts and the elimination of its most important field commanders.”
On October 7, one person was killed when a car parked in central Erbil city exploded. Four people were injured. On the same day, the Iraqi Security Service reported the destruction of three Daesh members in the northern province of Kirkuk.
On October 9, the Iraqi military command announced the launch of a special operation to destroy the “remaining Daesh terrorists” south of Mosul.
Three supporters of the pro-Iranian Shia militia Al-Hashd al-Shaabi were injured in an October 10 blast in the western province of Anbar. The cause of the explosion was a mine planted by Daesh militants.
On October 12, two IEDs went off north of Baghdad in Et Tarmiya district. As a result, eight people were injured. Explosions occurred near the highway and were targeting vehicles passing through.
On October 12, the Khor Mor gas field in Sulaymaniyah province was shelled again, with eight rockets fired from the Tuz-Khurmatu district in neighboring Salah al-Din province.
On October 13, three rockets landed near a specially protected government “green zone” in the center of Baghdad. Nine people were injured.
On October 19, the Iraqi Ministry of Defence announced that they ensured a reliable security of the Syrian-Iraqi border. “There are two lines of defense from the Iraqi side: border guards and army troops, together with the [Kurdish]peshmerga forces.” In addition, “a high level of coordination has been achieved with the [official] Syrian side, as well as with the international coalition and associated forces of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the Kurdish-led alliance, which controls several Syrian regions bordering Iraq.”
On October 19, a special unit vehicle of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan was blown up by an improvised explosive device in Garmiyan city, Sulaymaniyah province. One person died and several more were injured.
On October 20, one Iraqi serviceman was killed and two were wounded in an attack by Daesh militants near the village of At-Tarmiya, north of Baghdad. On the same day, an explosive device was set off in the city of Sulaymaniyah. The headquarters of the Kurdish security services named Asaish are situated near the epicenter of the explosion. The attack was organized by Daesh fighters in response to the recent counter-terrorist operation by Asaish, during which dozens of members of the group were eliminated and detained. Besides, an Iraqi Kurdistan security officer was killed on October 20 in a terrorist attack on the outskirts of Garmiyan city. A local Daesh cell was behind the attack.
On 21 October, during an operation in Maysan province, ten wanted persons were arrested and weapons were confiscated. On the same day, in Tarmiya, Daesh militants detonated a car bomb near an army checkpoint.
On October 23, Iraqi security forces conducted raids across several regions of the Diyala, northeast of Baghdad, detaining nine terrorist suspects.
On October 26, Daesh militants carried out an attack in the Dakuk district of Kirkuk province. One soldier was killed and another one was injured.
A powerful explosion took place in Baghdad on the night of October 29. It was an IED installed on a truck with liquefied gas. After this incident, the security forces in the capital prohibited tankers with gas, oil and other explosives from stopping in residential areas or entering repair shops. It is also planned to close all private auto repair shops that do not hold a license. Besides, all residents providing car repair services without official registration are advised to obtain a work permit from the city administration in the near future. At the same time, the authorities do not leave out a possible technical malfunction in this case.
In total, according to official information from Iraq authorities, in October 2022, Daesh militants carried out 13 terrorist attacks in various Iraqi provinces (excluding provinces within the Iraqi Kurdish autonomy), including: Baghdad: four terrorist attacks (two armed attacks, two explosions of improvised explosive devices (IED). Victims: 12 people (one killed, 11 more wounded). Diyala Province: three attacks (one IED, two mortar shelling cases). Victims: three people (two killed, one wounded). Kirkuk Province: three terrorist attacks (one armed attack, two IEDs). Victims: three people (one killed, two wounded). Salah al-Din province: one armed terrorist attack, no victims. Ninawa province: one terrorist attack in the form of shooting, no victims. Anbar province: one terrorist attack (IED). Victims: three people (wounded).
The Iraqi authorities are ready to repatriate all of their citizens held in Al-Hawl camp for the family members of former Daesh militants (Haseke province, Syria) within less than five years, Iraqi National Security Adviser Qasim Muhammad Jalal Al-Araji said.
Currently, Al-Hawl camp “holds more than 60,000 refugees from more than 50 countries. Among them are 25,000 Iraqis, including 20,000 minors under the age of 18.”
According to an agreement between the Iraqi authorities and the Kurdish alliance of the Syrian Democratic Forces, which controls Al-Hawl, the Iraqi government started the process of return of Iraqi family members of Daesh supporters from Syria in 2021. This process is causing serious concern in Iraq as many public figures consider it a time bomb that threatens the stability of the whole country.