Iraq's Air Force strikes ISIS hideouts in Diyala near border with Iran

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Iraq's Security Media Cell
7 Jan 2024 10:58
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The Iraqi Security Media Cell says that Iraqi forces have reached the 6th stage of an operation seeking to eliminate ISIS from the country

Iraqi Aerial monitoring cameras capture the moment a missile impacts an ISIS hideout in the Diyala Governate. (Iraqi Security Media Cell)

The Iraqi Security Media Cell announced that Iraqi F-16 aircraft targeted three ISIS hideouts in the Diyala operations sector, overnight on Saturday.

صقور الـ f16 يدمرون 3 اوكار لداعش في قاطع عمليات ديالى
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بعد ساعات من الاستعراض المهيب لصقور الــ f16 في سماء بغداد وتاكيدهم على شرف الدفاع المقدس عن تراب العراق وسمائه فقد حقق هؤلاء الابطال ضربة جوية ماحقة استهدفت 3 اوكار للارهاب في قاطع عمليات ديالى وذلك بمعلومات… pic.twitter.com/IjHyXkKD5N
— خلية الإعلام الأمني🇮🇶 (@SecMedCell) January 6, 2024

The F-16 fighter jets launched strikes against the three sites that the Iraqi National Intelligence Agency discovered at an earlier time. Under the supervision of the Joint Operations Command, the Iraqi Air Force's strikes directly hit all intended targets, the Media Cell announced.

Furthermore, the release reaffirmed that Iraqi forces will continue to target terrorist hideouts until they are completely eliminated from all Iraqi territories.

ISIS members exploiting region's geography

This comes within the framework of the 6th phase of the "Swords of Righteousness" operation, launched by the Iraqi government in June, aiming to eradicate the remnants of terrorism and secure Iraq's borders.

The region in question, which borders Iran and extends across the provinces of Diyala, Salah Al-Din, and Kirkuk, has been a safe haven for ISIS members who exploit its rugged geography, making ground operations difficult in the area. Airstrikes are, therefore, the safest and most effective option for Iraqi forces to target ISIS militants in the area.

Although the terrorist organization carried out attacks on civilians and challenged Iraqi authorities, it only grew to international prominence when it made rapidly growing land gains in 2014. The Iraqi Armed Forces and the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) were able to defeat the terrorist organization forcing its members to hide in mountainous arid terrains.

Iran's aid through the IRGC's Quds Force Commander, martyr Qassem Soleimani, proved essential for Iraq's victory over the organization that terrorized and massacred civilians and minorities.

Soleimani and his Iraqi comrade, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who led the PMF on the battlefield, were later assassinated by an American drone strike, outside the Baghdad International Airport, on January 3, 2020.