Supported by former Ba'ath party, IS reemerges in Diyala Province: Official

Former Ba'ath Party members are using social media to express support for the Islamic State in Diyala Province, according to a local official.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Islamic State (IS) extremists have reappeared in Sunni-populated Diyala with over 1,500 fighters currently spreading across the province, a local official said on Sunday.

Speaking to a local Kurdish news outlet, Zahid Tahir, a member of the Diyala Provincial Council, revealed that there are over 1,500 IS extremists spreading across the province and participating in terror activities against security forces.

“IS fighters are moving around the areas of Hamrin, Khanaqin, Baquba, Mandali, and some other regions,” Tahir told the Sulaimani-based Xendan website, adding that “former Ba’ath party members in the province are assisting them.”

According to the local official, the former Ba’ath members are using social media to express support for the extremist group and call upon people to boycott the general elections scheduled for May 12.

On May 3, IS fighters launched an overnight attack on Iraqi security forces, killing two police officers, wounding four, and kidnapping three others in the town of Jalawla (Gulala), 150 miles northeast of Baghdad.

During a speech last week, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the Deputy Commander of the Iranian-backed Shia-dominated Hashd al-Shaabi (and a US-designated terrorist), said there are at least 20,000 IS extremists who remain active in Iraq.

IS assaults have increased, just a week before Iraqi national legislative elections are to be held, the first in the country since the terror organization was militarily defeated in December 2017.

Although Iraq declared a “final victory” over the extremist group at the time, IS continues to carry out bombings, ambushes, kidnappings, and other attacks on a regular basis.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany