UN Security Council condemns Diyala attack, calls for combating terrorism in full swing
Shafaq News/ The United Nations (UN) Security Council on Tuesday condemned the deadly attack waged by ISIS militants on a site of the Iraqi army in the governorate of Diyala on Friday, January 21, as "cowardly terrorist".
Gunmen from the ISIS extremist group attacked an army barrack in a mountainous area in al-Udhaim district, Diyala, last week, killing 11 soldiers as they slept.
The brazen attack more than 120 kilometers north of the capital Baghdad was one of the deadliest targeting the Iraqi military in recent months.
ISIS took a large swath of land in Iraq and Syria in 2014. Following a series of bloody offensives against it, the armed group lost its territorial control and was effectively defeated in 2017 – although it remains active through sleeper cells in many areas, including al-Udhaim.
Members of the group still conduct operations, often targeting civilians, security forces, power stations, and other infrastructure.
Last month, an ISIS attack on a village at the outskirts of the Kurdistan Region killed at least 10 people, including seven members of the Peshmerga forces.
The 15-member Security Council reiterated its support for "the independence, sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity, democratic process and prosperity of Iraq."
"The members of the Security Council underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organizers, financiers, and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice," said the council, dismissing the attack as "criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever, and by whomsoever committed."
The council also "reaffirmed the need for all States to combat by all mean, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and other obligations under international law, including international human rights law, international refugee law, and international humanitarian law, threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts."
The council reiterated their support for Iraq's security and the continued fight against terrorism, including against ISIS.
