ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi security forces late Monday foiled an Islamic State (ISIS) attack in the northeast of Iraq, state media reported as the militant group continues to threaten the security of the country.
The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF or Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic) foiled an ISIS attack in Diyala’s village of al-Ma’adan on the outskirts of al-Sadiyah town.
The forces did not disclose further details on how the attack was conducted, but there are no reports of injuries or casualties.
ISIS seized control of swaths of land in Iraq in 2014. It was declared territorially defeated in 2017, but continues to carry out bombings, hit-and-run attacks, and abductions across several provinces.
Diyala is among the territories disputed by the Iraqi and Kurdish governments. Security forces frequently carry out operations against ISIS in these areas, but there is a lack of coordination between Iraqi and Kurdish forces that is blamed for leaving the troops vulnerable to attack.
Iraqi F-16 jets targeted two ISIS members in al-Sadiyah town on Sunday.
The terror group launches frequent attacks in the province, targeting the Peshmerga forces. Seven Kurdish fighters were killed in two separate Diyala attacks late last month.
Iraqi security forces on November 3 launched an operation in northeastern Diyala province to clear out terror elements following an ISIS attack that left more than a dozen of the area’s residents dead and several others injured.
Peshmerga officials have blamed the deadly ISIS attacks on a lack of coordination between them and Iraqi forces in the disputed areas. Efforts to form joint brigades in the disputed areas began earlier this year, but have since stalled.
In its propaganda magazine on Thursday, ISIS claimed to have conducted 9 attacks in Iraq from December 9 to December 15, killing and injuring 25 people.
