The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) announced Saturday the start of a large-scale operation across five fronts of the Hamrin mountain range in the eastern province of Diyala to eliminate elements of the Islamic State jihadist group hiding in the area.
«The Diyala Operations Command-PMF has started a qualitative and precise operation based on intelligence provided by its General Directorate of Security and Discipline,» the paramilitary forces said in a statement carried by the official Iraqi news agency INA.
The security operation will be concentrated in the northwest of the Azim district, between the road between Baghdad and Kirkuk, and the district of Qara Taba, said intelligence official Talib al Musawi.
The operation will involve the ground forces of the militias with the support of infantry and aviation of the Iraqi Army, with an important presence on the ground «because of the ruggedness of the area, as well as to avoid the explosives placed by the terrorists».
The PMFs and the Army have been carrying out such operations for months against sleeper cells of the jihadist organization that have spread across the country since the end of its self-proclaimed «caliphate» in Iraq in December 2017.
