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Iraq implements new security plan in Diyala

By Khalid al-Taie

A Diyala police unit raids an 'Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant' hideout at a farm in al-Miqdadiya. [Photo courtesy of the Diyala police command]

A Diyala police unit raids an 'Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant' hideout at a farm in al-Miqdadiya. [Photo courtesy of the Diyala police command]

The city of Baqubah has seen a rapid deployment of police forces as part of a new security plan to protect residents from "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL) attacks.

Police have been deployed at entry points and vital locations in the Diyala provincial capital, officials said, and checkpoints have been set up along external roads leading to the city.

The plan is "the biggest of its kind in the city in years", Baqubah mayor Abdullah al-Hayali told Mawtani.

"Police forces launched the plan on the heels of the most recent terrorist attacks in the city," he said.

ISIL claimed a May 9th car bombing in the village of Shifta in central Baqubah, which killed at least 10 and wounded 35, most of them women and children.

Strengthening Baqubah's security

The Interior Ministry sent two police emergency units from Wasit province to reinforce Baqubah’s security, which are equipped with modern weapons and armoured vehicles and trained to conduct special operations, al-Hayali said.

"The plan includes forming a tight security belt around the city with fixed checkpoints at the entrances and external roads that lead to the city centre and its suburbs," he said.

Security patrols also will be in charge of monitoring and arresting wanted ISIL elements and those suspected of infiltrating the city, as well as raiding the group's hideouts, he added.

"Strict measures also will be taken against anyone carrying unlicensed weapons," he said.

"The plan is going smoothly but it is still early to announce any results," al-Hayali said. "Security forces are maintaining law and order with utmost professionalism, and the security situation throughout Baquba is stable and there is a sense of normalcy."

Baqubah residents have shown their full support for the new security measures, he said, and have been providing security forces with information on suspicious persons and activity in the city.

Residents support the new plan

"We are facing a devious and bloodthirsty enemy that targets innocent people, but it will be defeated at the hands of our brave forces and with our support," said Baqubah resident Mohammed al-Mamouri of al-Muallimeen neighbourhood.

Residents support the new security plan and stand united in the face of terrorism, he told Mawtani.

"The terrorists are losing ground and their demise throughout the country is closer than ever before," he said.

The increase in attacks in the province "is a clear indication of the terrorists’ diminishing capabilities", said Diyala provincial council security committee chairman Sadiq al-Husseini.

"After the successive defeats [ISIL] has suffered at the hands of our security forces and the popular mobilisation, they are back to carrying out cowardly attacks using car bombs and explosive belts in residential areas, markets and public places," he told Mawtani.

"These attacks targeted certain towns in the province that are known for their diverse population and vibrancy such as Baqubah, al-Khalis, al-Miqdadiya and Balad Ruz in a desperate attempt to tear apart the social fabric of these areas, turn the people against the security forces and cause confusion," he said.

Targeting ISIL camps and cells

The new plan targets terror cells and seeks to foil their attacks, al-Husseini said, noting that "security forces in the province are undertaking exceptional efforts".

"So far this year, they have managed to destroy seven ISIL camps in the northern part of al-Miqdadiya and southern Balad Ruz, which ISIL has taken as bases for their terrorist operations," he said.

ISIL has been focused on Diyala due to its geographical importance and its multicultural society, said strategic expert and former military officer Ahmed al-Sharifi.

Therefore, additional security measures need to be rolled out in the province, he said, "so that militants have no chance of threatening the safety of its residents and taking advantage of [security] gaps to pursue their terrorist activities".

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