Alwaght- Iraq's Prime Minister ordered a security operation against ISIS remnants during a visit to the town of Tarmiyah, which recently witnessed a deadly attack by the terrorist group against the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).
Speaking at Tarmiyah’s military operations command on Monday, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, who was dressed in military regalia, stressed that the fight against terror is a “collective responsibility” and requires cooperation between security forces and citizens.
“From here, I announce the launch of a security campaign in cooperation with the families of Tarmiyah … to eliminate ISIS sleeper cells,” he said.
“We will not allow anyone to target the security services, and combating terrorism is the responsibility of everyone, whether the state or citizens,” he added. “We have the army, the security services, and Popular Mobilization Forces. We have instructed all the security services to cooperate and protect the citizens.”
Kadhimi said Tarmiyah has “rightful demands for services and projects, but terrorism wants to target livelihood” there.
On Friday, four members of al-Nujaba resistance movement, a subdivision of PMU, were killed in an ISIS attack against the headquarters of the 12th PMF Brigade in Tarmiyah.
ISIS began a terror campaign in Iraq in 2014, overrunning vast swathes in lightning attacks.
PMF played a major role in reinforcing the Iraqi army, which had initially suffered heavy setbacks in the face of ISIS' lightning gains.
Iraq declared victory over ISIS in December 2017 after a three-year counter-terrorism military campaign, which also had the support of neighboring Iran.
The terror outfit’s remnants, however, keep staging sporadic attacks across Iraq, attempting to regroup and unleash a new era of violence.
ISIS has intensified its attacks in Iraq since January 2020, when the United States assassinated top Iranian anti-terror commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani and PMU’s deputy commander, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, near Baghdad International Airport.
