“The third phase of the Will of Victory operation that was conducted by different units and forces of the Iraqi military forces ended on Friday,” Iraqi Security Media Cell spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasoul told Rudaw.
Launched on August 5, the third phase of Will of Victory sought to clear areas in the Diyala and Nineveh provinces from ISIS.
The operation was a collaboration between various domestic forces, including the Baghdad Operations Command, federal police, the army, intelligence services, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMU), counter terrorism units and the air force, as well as the US-led international coalition, according to Iraq’s Ministry of Defense.
Iraqi forces cleared 25 villages in a 1,702 kilometer square area in the Diyala province during the operation’s third phase. The forces detained 18 ISIS fighters and killed four others, according to an Iraqi Security Media Cell statement.
The forces further destroyed 12 tunnels and 24 dens that ISIS militants were using in the Diyala province to hide in, and seized 42 explosive devices and six mortar rounds, also according to the statement.
Rasoul said the overall operation is not over.
“The operation of Will of Victory is a continuous operation to combat ISIS remnants and sleeper cells in different areas in Iraq,” he told Rudaw. “The fourth phase of Will of Victory operation will be announced soon.”
The start date and areas of focus of the fourth phase will be determined by the prime minister, according to Rasoul.
ISIS seized vast areas of northern Iraq and Syria in the summer of 2014. Though declared territorially defeated in the country in December 2017, its remnants and sleeper cells remain active, returning to their earlier insurgency tactics.
Their resurgence has been particularly apparent in areas disputed by Erbil and Baghdad, where contention over control of territory has created exploitable security vacuums.
According to a US Department of Defense report to the US Congress published in August, ISIS are “working to rebuild their capabilities” in Iraq and Syria.
“ISIS is rebuilding in remote territory, which is hard for Iraqi forces to secure,” the report said, and is “able to recruit in these areas [Iraq’s northern and western provinces] using family and tribal connections.”
On Friday, Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi said that Iraqi forces have yet to encounter “real resistance” from ISIS militants in recent Will of Victory operations to eradicate the group’s remnants.
