SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Iraqi forces alongside Hashid al-Shaabi launched an operation against Islamic State (ISIS) militants in the Hamrin mountain range, the militia group said on Sunday.
The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) said its forces and the Iraqi military conducted a joint operation from five directions in the Hamrin mountain range, according to state news agency INA.
The operation “aims to pursue remnants of the enemy and to eliminate its hideouts in those areas to restrict its movement through which it carries out attacks on security forces and civilians,” the PMF, known as Hashid al-Shaabi, said in a statement.
The militant group has increased attacks against the security forces and civilians in disputed territories claimed by both Erbil and Baghdad.
Kurdish officials have long blamed a lack of coordination along a stretch of territory claimed by both Baghdad and Erbil for ISIS’ continued ability to wage deadly attacks.
Earlier this month, twenty-two members of the Peshmerga forces and three civilians were killed in ISIS attacks in the disputed areas.
Islamic State controlled roughly a third of Iraq between 2014 and 2017. Iraqi forces and Kurdish troops backed by U.S.-led Coalition forces as well as Iran-backed Shia militias defeated the militant group in 2017, but its members still roam areas of northern Iraq and northeastern Syria.
