Iraqi forces launch anti-ISIS operation in Anbar desert
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Backed by the international anti-Islamic State coalition, Iraqi forces on Thursday carried out a military campaign to find sleeper cell hideouts of the extremist group in an inhospitable stretch of territory in the western province of Anbar.
This marks the latest operation Iraq has conducted in and around central Anbar’s Wadi Houran, or Houran Valley, as well as additional locations. The areas are all characterized by rugged, barren terrain that has been a haven for members of the terrorist organization who use them as a base from which to plan and launch attacks in surrounding settlements and towns since its territorial collapse two years ago.
An Iraqi military statement said that the operation aims to “search Wadi Houran, the Husayniyyat area, south of Al-Qaim, and the border areas” adjacent to Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.
The statement explained that local Hashd al-Ashayari, or Tribal Mobilization Forces, took part in the multi-front push against the so-called Islamic State’s militants, with air support provided by the national air force and the coalition.
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Although Iraq declared victory over the Islamic State in December 2017, the extremist group continues to launch regular attacks, including bombings, kidnappings, and ambushes against both Iraqi security forces, Kurdish forces, and civilians in areas liberated from its control as well as in major cities it never took over, such as Baghdad and Kirkuk.
Recent unrest in Iraq in the form of widespread protests have slowed anti-Islamic State operations in the past few months.
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The terrorist group appears to have taken advantage of the situation and has carried out attacks with increasing regularity.
Wadi Houran is the country’s largest valley. It extends 350 kilometers from the Iraq-Saudi border to the Euphrates River near Haditha, a town about 200 kilometers west-northwest of Baghdad. The name is used to refer to a geographical region that includes the valley itself in addition to the surrounding hills and other geological features that branch off it.
Some security experts consider the area to be one of the most dangerous areas in Iraq, as it has long been a shelter for insurgent armed groups far away from urban centers and roads. It has been the site of many battles between Iraqi forces and extremist groups, including the Islamic State and al-Qaeda.
Iraqis have always described Wadi Houran as “the Bermuda Triangle,” in reference to the region located in the Atlantic Ocean where conspiracy theorists have claimed that paranormal activity has led to alarming numbers of incidents.
Northward in the Kurdistan Region’s Garmiyan area, members of a small community recently called on Kurdish Peshmerga forces to establish a security outpost near their village to protect them against Islamic State attacks, which have been on the rise in the area.
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Editing by John J. Catherine
