ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Democratic Party leader Masoud Barzani expressed concerns that there are no guarantees that the Islamic State won’t resurface in a scenario akin to their 2014 rise amid the US-led global coalition’s imminent withdrawal from Iraq at the end of September.
In an interview with Iraqi channel al-Sharqiya late Sunday that is yet to be aired, Barzani said there are no guarantees against the resurgence of the Islamic State (ISIS) in light of the US-led coalition’s withdrawal.
In discussions held by Iraqi political leadership in 2011 before the full withdrawal of US forces in December of that year, Barzani recalled asking the minister of defense and ministry of interior "if he had what it took to defend the country, and he said no. I asked the minister of interior, and he said he couldn't protect a police station. I then said, ‘Why are we discussing this [US withdrawal]?”
Barzani has over the years said that he had warned then Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of the dangers of militant groups up to days before the fall of Mosul.
Iraq experienced years of instability in post-2003 Iraq amid attacks from al-Qaeda, which then merged into the Islamic State of Iraq in 2006, and the subsequent Islamic State’s 2014 takeover of Iraq’s second largest city of Mosul and much of western and northern Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2017.
A US-led global coalition against ISIS intervened in 2014 with airstrikes, troops on the ground, and training and advising Iraqi and Kurdish forces. These forces are now set to withdraw from Iraq on September 30.
“The Americans left, and Daesh appeared right away. I fear the same scenario will happen,” said Barzani in the interview, referring to the US troop withdrawal in 2011.
“In 2014, when Daesh entered, the Iraqi government then begged America, European and NATO countries for help,” he added.
Prime Minister Masrour Barzani shared similar sentiments in an interview with the Financial Times. He cautioned that the US could repeat the consequences of its 2011 troop withdrawal, which was followed by the emergence of a security vacuum and the rise of ISIS.
On Sunday, Iraqi Counterterrorism Service forces killed two ISIS members and arrested another in Kirkuk province’s town of Pirde (Altun Kopri). Iraqi security forces have also conducted airstrikes in Diyala’s Wadi al-Shai in early September to destroy ISIS hideouts.
ISIS has maintained sleeper cells in various remote areas in the disputed territories between the Kurdistan Region and Iraq. The two have deepened cooperation, particularly through joint brigades of Kurdish and Iraqi security forces, to bolster monitoring of disputed territories.
Iraq’s airforce commander on Monday said ISIS was a minor threat. Commander of Iraqi Air Force, General Khalid Al-Tamimi, told state media that the Iraqi air force operates in complete independence from the global coalition in the airstrikes they conduct to target ISIS cells. Iraqi staff do 100 percent of maintenance work on Iraqi F-16 jets, said Tamimi.
"Minor breaches can and do occur, but they are kept under control… while sleeper cells still exist in remote and rugged areas, we continue to carry out effective operations. The threat of terrorism is currently very limited, thanks to the vigilance of citizens and the capabilities at our disposal," said Tamimi.
On Monday, Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), an official state-sponsored organization consisting of around 70 predominantly Shiite paramilitary groups, said in a statement on Facebook that it had launched a three-pronged operation in the Thalab Basin to the south of the disputed town of Khanaqin in Diyala province.
PMF Diyala Operations commander Talib al-Mousawi said the operation was created towards combing the basin to "prevent the movements of the terrorist ISIS organization and to prevent the establishment of new dens and outposts."
The operation started at 6:00 am. The Iraqi Army jointly led the operation on three fronts with the PMF and other security agencies, including Iraqi intelligence.
"The operation is proceeding in a good and active manner," said Mousawi. The PMF is set to announce results of the operation at a later date.
