Iraq News
Terrorism

ISIS suicide bomber targets own group's leaders in al-Qaim

By Khalid al-Taie

A photo circulated by the 'Islamic State of Iraq and Syria' shows ISIS fighters who attacked a military base in Kirkuk on May 7th. A suicide bomber blew himself up at an ISIS meeting in Anbar province on Sunday (June 25th) as tensions rise among members of the group. [Photo circulated on social media]

A photo circulated by the 'Islamic State of Iraq and Syria' shows ISIS fighters who attacked a military base in Kirkuk on May 7th. A suicide bomber blew himself up at an ISIS meeting in Anbar province on Sunday (June 25th) as tensions rise among members of the group. [Photo circulated on social media]

An "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) suicide bomber blew himself up among other members of the group during a meeting in the Anbar province city of al-Qaim near the Syrian border, a local official said Monday (June 26th).

"According to information provided by local residents, an ISIS element wearing an explosives vest has blown himself up among other group elements, mostly ISIS leaders," al-Qaim mayor Farhan Fitaikhan told Diyaruna.

The blast took place on Sunday when ISIS elements "were holding a meeting to discuss the setbacks and heavy human losses the group is sustaining in Mosul", he said.

"The suicide bomber was attending the meeting, which witnessed heated disputes among ISIS elements and their leaders on ways to stop their military collapse," he said.

"We do not have accurate information on ISIS losses in this blast," he said, adding that "according to our information, many ISIS elements were killed and wounded".

Frustration and despair

The attack reflects the state of frustration in the ranks of ISIS, Fitaikhan said.

"This is proof of their weakness and that they are now in a state of despair, as they cannot stop the collapse in their ranks," he said.

"Our sources confirm that ISIS fighters are angry with their leaders, who only care about securing their own lives and the lives of their families and amassing money and influence, while fighters are being sent to the incinerator," he added.

Fitaikhan said he expects the divisions and conflicts between ISIS elements and their leaders to continue to escalate.

He stressed the need to take advantage of the group's low morale and infighting to attack it and expel it from its last strongholds in Anbar.

"Most of [al-Qaim's] residents have escaped, and the only ones remaining in the city are ISIS elements, leaders and their families", whose number fluctuate as the city is open to Syria's Albu Kamal on the other side of the border, he said.

With the Mosul liberation operation approaching its end, Fitaikhan said he hopes a campaign will soon start to liberate al-Qaim and the neighbouring towns of Anah, Rawa and Akashat, where ISIS still has a foothold.

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