Militiamen killed in massive, multi-pronged ISIS attack in central Iraq

At approximately 11:00 on Friday night, members of the so-called Islamic State launched a multi-pronged offensive against positions held by Popular Mobilization Force (PMF) militia units in the central Iraqi province of Salahuddin. The attacks have resulted in at least ten deaths among various Iraqi forces, as per preliminary reporting.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – At approximately 11:00 on Friday night, members of the so-called Islamic State launched a multi-pronged offensive against positions held by Popular Mobilization Force (PMF) militia units in the central Iraqi province of Salahuddin. The attacks have resulted in at least ten deaths among various Iraqi forces, as per preliminary reporting.

Remnants of the terrorist organization attacked militia positions from four main locations in rural parts of Salahuddin, specifically in Tikrit, Samarra, al-Dur, and Balad, according to multiple Iraqi media reports that cited local officials.

PMF brigades 35 and 41 were reportedly involved in the clashes, some of which lasted nearly three hours, according to a social media post by Iraqi security analyst Husham al-Hashimi.

The Iraqi military deployed reinforcements to repel the Islamic State militants. The security forces and the PMF, known in Arabic as the Hashd al-Shaabi, reportedly “thwarted” the attack in Samarra’s town of Mukayshifa and took control of the surrounding area.

“The Hashd forces killed and wounded a number of Da’esh [ISIS fighters] while repelling the confrontations,” read a PMF statement that reported ten deaths among their ranks and additional personnel wounded.

Military sources stated that Iraqi forces including the army had deployed ground reinforcements backed by air support in an attempt to overtake the attackers.

A security source said that three Islamic State operatives were killed after they were trapped in the Hawi Machikhefeh area.

Another security source told Kurdistan 24 that helicopters then arrived and began attacking the aggressors while a local security force unit and PMF fighters cordoned off the area and began a search operation to locate them.

After reinforcements were sent to the area exactly one hour after the attack, said one source, an explosive device detonated, killing four militiamen and wounding three others, adding, "The terrorists burned a security post of the PMF." 

A Popular Mobilization Force (PMF) security post in the Iraqi province of Salahuddin that was burned in the Islamic State attack, May 2, 2020. (Photo: Social Media)
A Popular Mobilization Force (PMF) security post in the Iraqi province of Salahuddin that was burned in the Islamic State attack, May 2, 2020. (Photo: Social Media)

This attack marks a significant development in the scope of operations carried out by the Islamic State since the terrorist group lost all of its territory in Iraq in late 2017. Over the past three years, militants have continued their insurgent-style attacks, with periodic ebbs and flows of both frequency and effectiveness.

Read More: ISIS violence grips central Iraq; fresh attacks target civilians, security forces

Sleeper cells loyal to the organization have upped their activity in recent weeks, as a series of other crises have hit Iraq. On Thursday, its fighters reportedly shut down close to 1,500 megawatts of electricity from the national grid by bombing power lines in rural Diyala province.

Iraqi forces have conducted a series of operations to curb the Islamic State's reach, but activities have continued, especially in Diyala and Salahuddin. Attacks have also occurred in Anbar, Nineveh, and Kirkuk provinces, among others.

Read More: Amid heightened terrorist activity, Iraqi forces aggressively pursue ISIS

Top Kurdistan Region officials and Peshmerga commanders have issued repeated warnings to both the Iraqi government and the international community that the Islamic State remains active and capable of reasserting itself to continue its campaign of violence. A “security vacuum,” as KRG officials have described it, has made the disputed areas in Diyala, Salahuddin, and Kirkuk more vulnerable to Islamic State attacks.

Military delegation in Erbil

An Iraqi military delegation is scheduled to visit Erbil this week to discuss intensifying joint coordination between the Iraqi army and Peshmerga forces in tracking members of the terrorist organization, said Nasser Harki, a Kurdish lawmaker in the national legislature, on Tuesday.

The Iraqi army and Peshmerga had previously concluded an agreement on cooperate on anti-terrorist operations, but this appears to have not come into effect.

The federal team, headed by deputy head of the national Joint Operations Command Abdul-Amir Yarallah, has said he aims to meet with the Peshmerga command to activate the coordination between the two forces.

Harki is a member of parliament’s Security and Defense Committee, which held a meeting earlier on Tuesday that was spearheaded by Deputy Parliament Speaker Hassan al-Kaabi. According to a statement from the body, Kaabi warned of the danger of inaction as the Islamic State continues to step up its attacks.

The parliamentary official also called for “intensifying operations to track down terrorists,” according to a statement by his media office in which he said that the work of the joint security coordination centers between Baghdad and Erbil should be activated to fill “security gaps and prevent infiltration of terrorists and control the borders” of the federal and regional jurisdictions.

“Da’esh is seeking to organize its ranks and redeploy them again and it is seriously threatening more than one region and more than one province,” he warned. 

Editing by John J. Catherine