Shafaq News/ A commander of Iraq's al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces-PMF) on Monday said that ISIS 95% of its power in the notoriously volatile territory straddling Kurdistan, the outskirts of Diyala, Kirkuk, and Saladin, amid heightened security cooperation.

Assistant Commander of the PMF's 52nd Brigade, Atef al-Najjar, informed Shafaq News Agency that "the PMF forces have established control over more than 20 strips stretching from the borders of the Kurdistan region to Kirkuk, Saladin, and the peripheries of Diyala. These areas have not witnessed any ISIS activity in years, and its presence has dwindled by over 95%."

"The PMF forces are conducting thorough search campaigns to pursue ISIS members sheltering in hideouts," he added, "our goal is to eradicate them."

Notably, the label "hotspot areas" is no longer used by neither the PMF nor other security authorities.

Al-Najjar explained that "PMF forces, through security and intelligence coordination, managed to penetrate the formerly safe havens for ISIS remnants."