SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Iraqi forces along with Hashid al-Shaabi paramilitary group launched a large-scale operation against Islamic State (ISIS) militants in areas on the border between Iraq and Syria, Iraqi media reported on Monday.
Hashid al-Shaabi’s Nineveh Operations Command said the operation launched in Nineveh deserts would be the “largest one for this year”, according to Shafaaq News.
The security forces participating in the operation included the Iraqi military and fighters from Popular Mobilization Forces and Tribal Mobilization Units, the PMF’s Nineveh operations command added.
The operation aims to “cleanse vast lands of the desert on the Iraqi-Syrian border,” it said in a statement.
The federal government announced victory over ISIS by the end of 2017 after Iraqi and Kurdish forces backed by U.S.-led Coalition regained control of areas once captured by the militant group.
Despite its defeat, ISIS still poses a threat to the security and stability of the country as there are still sleeper cells in Iraq.
