ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi) announced that 12,000 of its fighters have participated in a fresh phase of an anti-Islamic State (ISIS) operation in western Iraq, as attempts to eliminate the terror group's remnants continue in the region.
The commander of the force's West Anbar operations Qassim Muslih told Iraqi state media on Saturday that the country's borders with neighboring countries are "fortified and well maintained," while mentioning that "12 thousand fighters from the Hashd have participated with a high level of combat, security, and intelligence training."
Muslih added that as the PMF continues to "cleanse" western Anbar province of ISIS sleeper cells, they have managed to kill three members of the terror group and destroyed their equipment.
The newest phase of the operation, dubbed Solid Will, is conducted under the supervision of the Joint Operations Command with the participation of the Border Guard Command, PMF, Iraqi Special Forces, the Counter-Terrorism Service, and the Rapid Response division, a statement from the Iraqi Security Media Cell read.
Objectives of the operation being carried out in the country's western provinces are to "dry up the sources of terrorism, pursue ISIS terrorist elements, and clear the lands from the taint of terrorism and crime in its various forms," according to the statement.
Muslih also said that the visit of Iraqi premier Mustafa al-Kadhimi to the PMF headquarters in Anbar gave his fighters the moral support needed to ensure the operation's success.
The operation is the latest extension of its first phase, which targeted ISIS cells in a three-day sweep in the provinces of Salahaddin, Anbar, and Nineveh, and was initiated on March 29. During the mission, 19 ISIS hideouts and six tunnels were destroyed, and numerous stockpiles of weapons and ammunition were discovered, including four Katyusha rockets and RBG7 launchers.
ISIS seized control of swathes of Iraqi land in 2014. The group was declared territorially defeated in 2017 but it continues to carry out bombings, hit-and-run attacks, and abductions across several provinces.
In its propaganda magazine on Thursday, ISIS claimed to have conducted 28 attacks in Iraq from April 14 to April 20, killing and injuring 51 people.
