Eleven Iraqi soldiers were killed in an attack on an Iraqi army headquarters attributed to ISIS, at dawn on Friday, in Diyala Governorate, northeast of Baghdad, in one of the deadliest attacks in weeks.
An Iraqi military official, who asked not to be identified, told AFP that 11 soldiers, including a lieutenant, were killed in an attack by ISIS militants with various weapons, including light weapons.
He suggested that the organization’s elements took advantage of the roughness of the area and the low temperatures to carry out their attack, which targeted an army headquarters in the Hawi al-Azeem area, north of Baquba, adjacent to Salah al-Din Governorate, where ISIS cells are still active.
In late 2017, Iraq announced its victory over the Islamic State after expelling its members from all the major cities that they seized in 2014, while the organization’s leader was killed in 2019.
Since that time, the organization’s attacks in cities have decreased significantly, but the Iraqi forces are still chasing sleeper cells in mountainous areas and in the desert, especially in the governorates of Salah al-Din, Kirkuk and Diyala, where the Friday attack took place, which has not yet been claimed.
Iraqi President Barham Salih described the attack launched by ISIS in Diyala as a “cowardly terrorist”, while Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi ordered the opening of an investigation and the need to adhere to the highest levels of preparedness, and to carry out “major” operations to confront the organization.
In turn, the United Nations mission in Iraq said that the Diyala attack was a painful reminder that ISIS still poses a threat.
For its part, the United States and Turkey condemned the Diyala attack against the Iraqi armed forces, describing it as a terrorist.
Diyala governorate witnesses repeated attacks by the Islamic State, most of which target the security forces and often lead to casualties, while the Iraqi authorities continue their security operations in the Hamrin Mountains area, which extends between the governorates of Diyala and Salah al-Din, to pursue the cells of the organization.