Iraqi forces could launch offensive to liberate Anbar from ISIS

Military offensive are likely to start early on Saturday to liberate Islamic State’s holdout in west of Anbar province, a source from the pro-government paramilitary troops was quoted saying. “U.S. force arrived at Ain al-Assad base in al-Baghdadi region, Anbar, in the afternoon within arrangements to launch expected campaign early on Saturday,” the source from al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) told Baghdad Today on Friday.

“The operation will liberate the town of Annah, so the troops would be based in T1 base, located near the town,” the source, who asked for anonymity, added. On Thursday, Emad al-Dulaimi, Rutba mayor, said in remarks that the first phase of military operation to liberate two regions of Okashat and Annah will be launched simultaneously within the coming few hours.

Anbar’s western towns of Anah, Qaim and Rawa are still held by the extremist group since 2014, when it occupied one third of Iraq to proclaim a self-styled Islamic Caliphate. Iraqi troops were able to return life back to normal in the biggest cities of Anbar including Fallujah, Ramadi and others after recapturing them. Fighter jets from the Iraqi army and the international coalition regularly pound IS locations in the province.

On the other hand, A civilian was killed, while three others were wounded in a bomb blast in southern Baghdad, a security source said. “A bomb, placed near a market in Hor Rajab region, in Dora neighborhood, south of Baghdad, exploded on Friday, leaving a civilian killed and three others wounded,” the source told Alghad Press on Friday.

“Police troops cordoned off the accident spot. Ambulances transferred the injured to hospital, while the victim was taken to forensic medicine department,” the source added. Violence in the country has surged further with the emergence of Islamic State Sunni extremist militants who proclaimed an “Islamic Caliphate” in Iraq and Syria in 2014.

A monthly count by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), which excludes security members deaths, said 297 Iraqis, were killed and injured due to violence and armed conflicts during the month of August. Baghdad was the most affected province with 45 deaths and 135 injuries.

Baghdad has seen almost daily bombings and armed attacks against security members, paramilitary groups and civilians since the Iraqi government launched a wide-scale campaign to retake IS-occupied areas in 2016. While most of of the explosions and attacks went without a claim of responsibility, Islamic State has claimed several incidents.

Despite the group’s defeat in its main havens across Iraqi provinces, observers believe the group may still constitute a security threat. In the same context, Three Islamic State militants were killed and injured as an explosion occurred in east of Salahuddin, a local source said.

“A vehicle carrying IS militants in Mutaibija, Salahuddin, exploded, leaving two militants killed and a third wounded, in accordance with preliminary information,” the source told AlSumaria News on Friday. “It’s unknown if the blast was due to aerial bombardment or explosives on board of the vehicle,” the source, who preferred anonymity, added.

Occasional attacks have been witnessed in Mutaibija by Islamic State against government and paramilitary troops deployments since Iraqi forces, backed by a U.S.-led coalition and PMUs, launched a major offensive to retake areas occupied by IS since 2014.

Earlier this week, Jaafar al-Battat, the service’s chief of staff of the Federal Police, said in remarks that troops completed their mobilizations and are awaiting orders from the supreme commander of the armed forces to move towards Shirqat, the group’s haven located north of the province.

Pivotal regions that link between each of Diyala, Salahuddin and Kirkuk, are still held by the militants which poses threats to the liberated regions. Iraqi troops are urged to prevent the militants infiltration between Salahuddin and Kirkuk provinces, especially the regions stretching along Hamreen mountains and Al-Azeem town.

It’s expected that the Iraqi government will head towards liberating other IS strongholds across Iraq, including in Salahuddin.

On the political side, Turkey has hinted at plans to impose sanctions on the Kurdistan Region if it proceeds with the independence referendum on September 25, the prime minister has stated. 
“We don’t want to impose sanctions. But if we arrive at that point, there are steps that have already been planned that Turkey can take,” Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told reporters in Ankara on Friday, according to Hurriyet Daily News. 
Yildirim said he was making a “friendly appeal” to Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani to cancel the planned vote, “while there is still time.” He did not detail what possible sanctions were being considered. Good relations with Turkey are key to the Kurdistan Region’s economy. Kurdistan exports its oil through Turkey’s Ceyhan port. Turkey also buys oil and natural gas from Kurdistan.
In the first half of 2017, $5 billion worth of trade passed between Turkey and Kurdistan, a 20 percent increase over the same period the year before. Officials in Ankara have previously said they would not consider closing their borders with the landlocked Kurdistan Region, saying the referendum has no bearing on their trade.
"This is nothing to do with our trade with this Region," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said during a visit to Erbil in August. "We have been supporting the KRG [Kurdistan Regional Government] and the Kurdish brothers and sisters here in Iraq as well as others. So we have not put any condition and we do not want to come to this stage.”
While leaders in Europe and the US have called on the Kurdistan Region to postpone the vote, Turkish leaders want to see it cancelled. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a live TV broadcast that the referendum “is beyond abdication of reasons; this is critically political inexperience, there cannot be such an understanding of politics,” according to state-run Anadolu Agency. 
He said that Ankara will announce its official position after a September 22 meeting of its National Security Council, but stressed that Turkey would not allow Iraq’s territorial integrity to be threatened. Yildirim had similar words for Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in a telephone call on Friday. He expressed Turkey’s support for all steps taken by Baghdad to preserve Iraq’s unity, detailed a statement from Abadi’s office. 
The two agreed to work together to prevent the referendum, according to Anadolu. The Kurdistan Region parliament voted on Friday evening to hold the referendum as planned on September 25. Earlier in the day, Kurdistan President Masoud Barzani said the vote would go ahead because no viable alternative had been presented, implying a rejection of a proposal from the US, UK, and UN to postpone the vote.