In the past week, ISIS has carried out nine attacks against civilians and security forces in the province, according to the Peshmerga. Fearful for their lives, residents of seven villages in the Jalawla area are packing up.
Jasim Mawlood plans to leave his home in the village of Hessad because of what he says is a "very bad" security situation.
“The other day Daesh [ISIS] attacked our people, killing some and burning a vehicle and two houses. They also killed my uncle, the village chieftain,” he said.
Mawlood’s neighbour, Ahmed Awwad, said "the government is missing" in remote areas of Diyala province.
The Iraqi army, Peshmerga, and militias of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) all have a presence in the area. But a lack of coordination among them has paved the way for increased ISIS activities.
"Daesh [ISIS] is present in the vicinity of Jezzani and the outskirts of Mount Hamrin and the northern Jalawla areas. I think it is very difficult to control them," said Muthanna al-Tamimi, governor of Diyala.
"There isn’t a good intelligence mission in the region. We have said many times that there must be coordination between the regional and federal governments in order to bring the areas under control," Tamimi added.
Although territorially defeated in Iraq in December 2017, ISIS continues to launch attacks against security forces and civilians, sheltering in the security vacuum between Iraqi and Kurdish forces in areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad.
“There is a security void and there is no coordination between the Iraqi army and us. Thus, Daesh has capitalized on this gap to carry out their activities, regroup and reorganize themselves,” said Captain Umed Rash, of Peshmerga Brigade 5.
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Saturday called for greater cooperation between federal and regional forces in order to combat ISIS.
Translation by Zhelwan Zeyad Wali
