Iraqi army seizes more territories in Anbar's desert

Over one hundred houses in western Anbar town are still booby-trapped, a mayor from Anbar from the province was quoted saying on Tuesday.

“There are more than 135 booby-trapped houses in sporadic regions in Rawa town,” Hussein Ali, the mayor, told AlSumaria News. “Efforts are still being made to detonate these houses at the lowest amount of losses.”

“Army troops managed to comb all the roads in Rawa and remove the explosives, facilitating the movements of citizens around the town,” he added.

On Sunday, Ali announced the launch of a wide-scale campaign to remove the signs of Islamic State in Rawa.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced, earlier this month, full liberation of Iraqi lands, declaring end of war against IS members.

In November, Abadi said his country has defeated Islamic State over the military level, but will declare final victory after desert areas are purged of militants. Earlier in the month, Iraqi forces recaptured Anbar’s western town of Rawa, the very last bastion under Islamic State control.

Iraqi forces, backed by a U.S.-led coalition and paramilitary troops, have been fighting since October 2016 to retake territories Islamic State occupied in 2014.

The war against IS has displaced nearly five million people, with tens of thousands of civilians and militants killed since the launch of the offensives to recapture occupied cities.

In Haweija, Three army personnel were killed and injured Tuesday in a bomb blast in Hawija town in Kirkuk, a security source was quoted saying.

“An explosive charge went off while an army patrol was passing by al-Safra district in Hawija, leaving two soldiers dead and an officer injured,” the source told Baghdad Today.

On Monday, Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack that targeted security personnel and a senior tribesman earlier this week.

A statement issued by the militant group’s media arm Amaq agency said that eight Iraqi security personnel, including six officers and two colonels were killed in an operation by the militants on Riyad-Hawija road.

Another statement by the group’s so-called Kirkuk State Media Center said militants targeted several personnel of al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) killing eight of them, including six officers.

In October, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared that Iraqi troops recaptured Hawija, a main town held by Islamic State in the country.

The town fell to IS in June 2014, when the militant group seized control of much of northern and western Iraq and proclaimed the creation of a self-styled “caliphate”.

There, Islamic State’s reign forced thousands to flee to refugee camps, while hundreds had been executed by the group for attempting to escape the area or contacting security forces.

In October, Abadi announced that Iraqi military has retaken Hawija, a main town held by Islamic State in the country.

In the same context, Iraqi security troops have tightened measures at some district in Mosul, western Nineveh, imposing curfew and carrying out campaigns to arrest suspects, Al-Quds Al-Arabi website reported on Wednesday.

The measures were mainly seen at Sumar and Doumeiz districts. Sumar is one of the regions in Mosul, which witnesses assassination of officers and conscripts.

According to eyewitnesses, the measures were taken after a victim’s body was found with Islamic State slogans threatening security personnel and promising return of the caliphate.

The report also quoted observers as saying that security personnel carry out campaigns at different regions in the city searching for suspects who are still hiding.

The report quoted a source as saying that militants seek launching attack in the south of Mosul.

“Significant tension in security situations are witnessed, after the militant group carried out attacks that targeted officials and security personnel,” Abdul Rahman al-Jumeily, a security personnel, said.

Troops, according to Jumeily, “carried out campaigns at south of the city to thwart any attacks.”

“Troops are on high alert since several suicide attacks targeted officials before the attackers fled toward unknown destination.

On Monday, four policemen were reportedly killed as Islamic State militants attacked a police patrol in al-Yaarabiya district, west of Mosul.

News reports said that an attack took place on Sunday at al-Islah al-Zera’i district, west of Mosul, when confrontations occurred between police and the militants, who ran away then.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi declared in July victory over IS militants who had held the second largest Iraqi city since 2014. More than 25,000 Islamic State militants were killed throughout the campaign.

On political side, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has rebuked his interior minister for interfering into army deployments, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Saudi newspaper Okaz, quoting Iraqi presidency sources, said Abadi chided Minister Qassem al-Araji for “interfering in army affairs in Sulaimaniya”, the Kurdistan Region province. It said Abadi criticized the minister for “trespassing his mandate”.

According to the newspaper, Araji had directed military units not to advance towards villages and towns surrounding the province.

“Araji informed Abadi that his interference had prevented an armed clash between Iraqi forces and Kurdish Peshmerga troops”. It added that “Peshmerga were about to attack the Iraqi forces which were preparing to take control over a road between Jalawla and Kalar towns”.

According to Okaz, Araji made the directives voluntarily, which enraged Abadi as his action “impeded the advance of Iraqi forces which were prepared to take over a road controlled by Peshmerga”.

Abadi asked the minister to withdraw the troops he had deployed to separate Iraqi army and Peshmerga forces.

As per Abadi’s orders, Iraqi troops took over several Kurdish-held areas in Kirkuk, Nineveh and Diyala in mid October in response to a referendum Kurdistan Region held a month earlier on independence from Iraq.