Iraq News
Security

Joint forces increase vigilance in Iraq's Upper Euphrates area

By Khalid al-Taie

Iraqi forces raid a cave in the desert area around al-Qaim in Anbar province on Wednesday (September 19th). [Photo courtesy of the Upper Euphrates Facebook page]

Iraqi forces raid a cave in the desert area around al-Qaim in Anbar province on Wednesday (September 19th). [Photo courtesy of the Upper Euphrates Facebook page]

Iraqi tribal forces on Friday (September 21st) announced they have begun pre-emptive operations alongside the regular Iraqi forces to secure the Upper Euphrates area in Anbar province along the border with Syria.

The Upper Euphrates unit, al-Jazeera Operations Command and the 8th Infantry Division have started an operation to secure the area, located in Anbar's western desert, said Upper Euphrates unit commander Col. Moussa Hamad al-Sind.

The operations include an extensive sweep of the desert and villages along the northern and southern banks of the Euphrates River, he told Diyaruna, along with stepped up surveillance patrols.

The objective is to find and target the hideouts and strongholds of "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) remnants, he said.

An Iraqi soldier is seen arresting a suspect during a campaign to hunt down ISIS cells in the Upper Euphrates area in this photo, posted online on April 18th. [Photo courtesy of the 6th Infantry Division Command]

An Iraqi soldier is seen arresting a suspect during a campaign to hunt down ISIS cells in the Upper Euphrates area in this photo, posted online on April 18th. [Photo courtesy of the 6th Infantry Division Command]

"The forces have prepared plans to take action based on the intelligence provided by our sources," al-Sind said. "There is a close relationship between us and the local people in remote towns, who co-operate with us."

Security operations have been staged in the Upper Euphrates region for some time, he said, but will now be "more focused and stronger".

Blocking ISIS infiltration

"There is fierce fighting on the other side of the border inside Syrian territory, and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), with the support of the coalition forces, are making quality progress," al-Sind said.

As these forces bear down on ISIS on the other side of the border, "that fighting makes us more vigilant than ever, and we are cautious of the possibility of terrorist infiltrations into our territory", he added.

"Small groups of gunmen attempted a few weeks ago to try their luck and penetrate our borders, but were surprised to be met by an impenetrable wall," he said.

"Joint forces managed to kill [some] infiltrators on the spot with the help of international coalition aircraft," he said, noting that two of the infiltrators were arrested.

Although there have been some sporadic acts of violence in Haditha and al-Qaim, "the situation in general is under control", he stressed.

On Wednesday (on September 19th), with support from Iraqi army aircraft, "we killed four terrorists who were hiding in a cave in the desert south of al-Qaim and destroyed their vehicle, weapons and food supplies", he said.

"Our security efforts are continuing," al-Sind said.

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