Diyala demands radical solutions to security gaps at the borders with Kurdistan

Shafaq News /  Diyala demands addressing the security gaps between the governorate's borders and the Kurdistan Region to halt ISIS attacks in the disputed areas. 

 Jalil Warya, a former member of Diyala Provincial Council, told Shafaq News Agency, "ISIS members migrated from the western borders in Nineveh, Saladin, and Hamrin towards areas devoid of security presence at the borders of Khanaqin and Jalawla with Kalar district, which have become sanctuaries and camps for armed organizations."

"The withdrawal of the Peshmerga in 2017 from the Diyala-Kurdistan borders and the outskirts of Khanaqin and Jalawla led to the influx of armed gangs that settled in those areas and had the upper hand by daily threats and attacks."

 Warya indicated, "the areas of the outskirts of Khanaqin and Jalawla are subject to almost daily attacks and sustained heavy losses since the Iraqi security forces, and al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces-PMF) has zero acquaintance of the geography of the area, unlike the Peshmerga forces, which were preponderant and worked on drying up the sources of terrorism before their emergence."

Three PMF fighters were killed, and five others were wounded yesterday evening, Wednesday, in an ISIS attack in Khanaqin district.

 A member of the Parliamentary Security and Defense Committee for Diyala, Abd al-Khaleq Medhat al-Azzawi, said, "the security breaches that Diyala witnesses in Hamrin, Khanaqin basin and countryside, Neft Khana and Jalawla require serious attention and management by the government and the security ministries."

In a previous statement to Shafaq News Agency, he said, "the government is fully aware of Diyala's security situation. However, it has not responded to our demands over the past years and months. The government is responsible for the blood shed daily by the gangs of darkness and treachery."