Islamic State trying to 'restart the cycle of violence' warns Iraqi parliament leaders

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Following a deadly market bombing in the western border town of al-Qaim, Iraq's three top parliamentary officials warned of the danger of Islamic State sleeper cells attempting to reignite violence in the embattled country.

In a statement released on Saturday by the Council of Representatives in Baghdad, First Deputy Speaker Hassan al-Kaabi called on Iraqis to "not tolerate in any way the terrorist sleeper cells that are trying to instill terror in families" and "restart the cycle of violence" that has plagued the nation for decades.

In other statements, Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi called "the repeated terrorist bombings" in areas liberated from the Islamic State a "dangerous indicator" and Second Deputy Speaker Bashir Haddad called for "strict security measures to protect the lives of citizens and their property."

The comments come in response to a car bomb blast on Friday that killed at least two people and injured dozens more in a town at a busy market in Iraq's Anbar Province.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the incident, described by the Iraqi military as a terrorist attack.

Al-Qaim was among the last major strongholds of the Islamic State in Iraq, having control of the area as late as November 2017 before the town was retaken by Iraqi forces.

Despite the passing of more than a year since Baghdad's declaration of a final victory over the terrorist organization, it continues to wage an insurgency in areas it once controlled.