Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi toured a military compound base in northern Baghdad to “oversee” the new phase of the operation.
"After the first phase of 'Operation Will of Victory' achieved its objectives accurately and successfully by the blessing of Allah, the second phase of this operation began at dawn on Saturday to bolster security and stability in northern areas of Baghdad and the surrounding areas of Diyala, Saladin and Anbar provinces," a statement from the Iraqi Security Media Cell read.
The operation is collaboration between Baghdad Operations Command, the Federal Police, the Army, intelligence services, the Hashd al-Shaabi paramilitary forces (PMFs), others including the Air Force, and US-led international coalition forces, according to the statement.
Footage shows Iraqi military leaders commencing the second phase of the anti-ISIS Will of Victory operation in northern Baghdad, Iraq, on July 20, 2019. Video: Iraqi MOD
Iraqi forces launched the first phase of the operation with the aim of eradicating ISIS remnants on July 7.
Though declared defeated in Iraq in December 2017, ISIS remnants operate as sleeper cells in areas blighted by security vacuums due to dispute over their control by Erbil and Baghdad. They have since resorted to insurgent tactics including bombings, ambushes, kidnapping, extortion, and arson. The group claimed responsibility for a twin suicide bombing in Baghdad on Monday, killing 5 civilians.
Abdul-Mahdi arrived at the operations center in the north of Baghdad province to “oversee” the operation. He met with various top generals including the operation’s commander Iraqi Lt. Gen. Abdul Amir Rasheed Yarallah and also Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the head of the Hashd committee.
Top brass from various commands briefed Abdul-Mahdi on the operation’s strategy which "aims to achieve security, stability and the rule of law” and “prevent Daesh [ISIS] gangs from infiltrating these areas, using them as corridors to undertake terrorist operations," according to the statement from his office.
"The unity of our people and their cooperation with our armed forces guarantee the provision of security and stability as well as the provision of conditions for offering services to citizens," he said.
Abdul-Mahdi, who is the commander-in-chief of all armed forces in the country, added that security and the provision of basic services are two "inseparable" things. Iraqis across the country have long suffered from poor electricity and sanitation provisions, with destroyed infrastructure left without repair or upgrade since the Iraq-Iran war of the 1980s.
He therefore called on local authorities to "double" their efforts to provide basic services to "those people who have suffered from both negligence and terrorism."
Some 19 months after Abdul-Mahdi’s predecessor Haider al-Abadi declared ISIS defeated, more than 1.6 million Iraqis remain displaced in camps and host communities, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
“These hearts and minds aren’t for Daesh; they’ll be won by the efforts of the Coalition, the Government of Iraq, and partners that will provide a prosperous future,” the account for the special operations task force with the coalition tweeted on July 7 with a photo of Iraqi children and aid workers.
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