Local officials in Diyala undermines the impact of ISIS's Ramadan raids
Shafaq News/ The Deputy Commissioner of al-Khalis district (15 kilometers to the North of Baqubah), Oday Adnan al-Khadran, said in a statement to Shafaq News Agency, "Every year in Ramadan, ISIS operatives launch attacks and night blitzes by rifles, mortars, and long-distance shooting against sites of the security forces then flee."
"All the attacks are banditry raids, hit and run; a desperate attempt to establish a presence," he added, "those attacks are worthless. It does not live up to the level of a security threat."
"ISIS cannot appear publicly, confront security forces or al-Hashd al-Shaabi [Popular Mobilization Forces-PMF], nevertheless take control over a small land in any administrative unit outside its strongholds in Hamrin, the Grand al-Hawi, the remote areas in the northeast of Diyala, and Diyala-Saladin borders."
"Dismissing experienced intelligence commanders, most prominently the leader the Falcons Abu Ali wl-Basri, the head of the Military Intelligence Directorate Brigadier-General Saad al-Allaq, despite their success in penetrating and dismantling dangerous terrorist network is an erroneous mistake," he added.
Al-Khali DC called for appointing adequate alternatives for the dismissed competent security commanders to avoid any security breaches or retraction with unfathomable consequences.
Al-Khadran attributed the resurgence of ISIS attacks to "distancing the PMF from some territories, the lack of effective pre-emptive security operations, and the deteriorating intelligence efforts in the hot sectors."
He also undermined the terrorist organization capacity to pose a threat to the security of al-Khalis even after the recent attacks on the district, calling for raising the alert level, devising tight security plans, and intensifying the security and intelligence cooperation between the security different security bodies among themselves, and with the citizens.
"ISIS return to its strongholds in Diyala or al-Khalis is a dream. The national consciousness and the security senses of the citizen are different from how it was before 2014," he concluded.
The director of al-Jadida al-Shat sub-district (25 kilometers to the northwest of Baqubah), Haidar al-Arnaouti, said in a statement to Shafaq News Agency, "ISIS militants operate according to messages and threads they receive from other governorates."
"The attacks are messages to the command: we are still operating, or maybe requesting financial support."
Al-Arnaouti said that those attacks are "ineffective" and "they are not at the level of security threat".
Since the beginning of Ramadan, ISIS operatives have launched several attacks in Diyala. The attacks, also known as Ramadan raids, have resulted in several injuries among civilians and security forces.
