...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling
Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not
reallyMoslems....
(ISIS) "is dying" and no longer has the capacity to threaten Iraq or the Kurdistan Region, a senior defense ministry official told Rudaw, crediting unprecedented coordination between Iraqi and Kurdish forces in disputed territories and reinforced security along the Syrian frontier for closing long-standing gaps exploited by holy warriors.
Major General Tahsin al-Khafaji, Director of Media and Moral Guidance at Iraq’s defense ministry,
…or more briefly: Military Propaganda Chief…
said cooperation with the Kurdish Peshmerga "is very high," noting the establishment of two special brigades tasked with "coordination and joint work with the Peshmerga" to prevent terrorist activity in overlapping areas of administration between Erbil and Baghdad.He added that the effort also aims to curb "smugglers, narcos, and anyone who attempts to carry out a terrorist act or harm our Iraqi people, Arabs and Kurds alike."
The senior defense ministry official said joint operations have achieved "great success," strengthening stability and improving intelligence sharing and overall security performance.
ISIS seized control of large swathes of territory in Iraq in 2014, but was defeated in 2017 after three years of fierce battles. Despite its defeat, the group continues to threaten security, especially in disputed territories between Erbil and Baghdad, spanning several provinces including Diyala, Kirkuk,
... a thick stew of Arabs, Turkmen, Kurds, and probably Antarcticans, all of them mutually hostile most of the time...
Nineveh and Salahaddin provinces.
Still, Khafaji underscored that "ISIS is dying" and currently lacks the capability to mount significant attacks, stressing that coordination with the Peshmerga remains "very high," backed by years of shared battlefield experience. He added that Iraqi and Kurdish forces remain on the offensive, pursuing ISIS remnants through "monitoring, drawing out [the holy warriors], and striking."
THE SYRIAN FRONT
Following a swift offensive in early December, a coalition of opposition forces led by the now-dissolved Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else
...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State...(HTS) - then led by Ahmed al-Sharaa - toppled the regime of longtime Syrian dictator Bashir
Pencilneckal-Assad
Light of the Alawites...
In the aftermath of the collapse of its former ally, Baghdad ramped up efforts to secure its 618-kilometer border with Syria amid concerns over potential instability and ISIS infiltration.
Khafaji said the Iraqi-Syrian border is now "in its best condition," fully secured by the Border Guard Forces Command, whom he described as well-equipped and actively engaged in border protection.
A border being only as secure as the bribes the guards won’t take…
Cooperation with the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), he added, has further strengthened defenses through trench barriers and a line of surveillance towers equipped with cameras, weapons, and night-vision systems.Baghdad has also expanded coordination with all neighboring countries, including Syria, to enhance intelligence sharing and prevent cross-border holy warrior movement.
Related:
Tahsin al-Khafaji 09/05/2023 PMF thwart attempted bombing targeting Arbaeen pilgrims
Tahsin al-Khafaji 05/10/2023 Over 100 ISIS militants killed in Iraq since January: Army spox
Tahsin al-Khafaji 04/19/2023 Iraqi intelligence arrest ‘important’ ISIS member in Sulaimani
Tahsin al-Khafaji 09/05/2023 PMF thwart attempted bombing targeting Arbaeen pilgrims
Tahsin al-Khafaji 05/10/2023 Over 100 ISIS militants killed in Iraq since January: Army spox
Tahsin al-Khafaji 04/19/2023 Iraqi intelligence arrest ‘important’ ISIS member in Sulaimani