ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi security forces carried out their first military operation since the US-led coalition announced the suspension of operations in Iraq.
The Baghdad Operations Command announced in a statement on Thursday that its forces launched an offensive at dawn “to track down wanted men in the northern suburbs of the Iraqi capital.”
The operation was launched specifically in the town of Tarmiyah, located north of Baghdad, which recently witnessed violence linked to the so-called Islamic State, the statement read.
The security media cell said the “army and other security services” participated in the operation under cover of the Iraqi Air Force.
The military operation aims “to enhance security and stability and arrest those wanted in the Tarmiyah district and its surrounding areas.”
Thursday morning’s operation is the first carried out by Iraq since the US-led Coalition against the Islamic State announced it was suspending operations against the terrorist group to focus on ensuring the security of the military bases in Iraq from which its troops operate.
Another complicating factor is the vote of the Iraqi parliament late on Sunday, when it approved a draft bill, calling for an end to the presence of foreign troops in Iraq.
Read more: Iraqi parliament approves draft bill to end US troop presence in Iraq
The developments come after a US drone strike last week on a convoy near the Baghdad airport killed Soleimani, long-time head of the Quds Force, the paramilitary arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard.
Iran launched a barrage of ballistic missile strikes on Wednesday at airbases in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region in retaliation for the killing of Soleimani.