A local Iraqi force called "Nawader" has taken control of a vital border crossing in western Ninawa province that the "Islamic state of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL) was using as a strategic corridor to move between Syria and Iraq.

This force consists of Sunni Arab fighters from the Shammar tribe and Yazidi volunteers, according to its founder and overseer Iraqi MP Abed al-Rahim al-Shammari.

In an interview with Diyaruna on July 22nd, al-Shammari said the force, which was formed in February, includes more than 1,500 fighters, half from his own tribe and half Yazidi fighters.

"Since the announcement of its foundation, the 'Nawader' force took it upon itself to confront ISIL and expel it from the areas it controls in western Ninawa," he said.

"By the end of March, we were able to liberate important border areas in al-Baaj district, including Um al-Theban area, which includes about 16 villages and nine other villages belonging to the area of Um Jeris," he said.

"During the liberation battles, more than 100 ISIL fighters were killed and they sustained heavy material losses," al-Shammari said. "Currently our fighters impose full control over these villages, there are defensive lines and points of common deployment."

The border crossing with Syria known as Mosul-Raqa road was seeing a large number of ISIL fighters crossing into Iraq, he said, and "now it is safe without any cases of infiltration".

The force commander called on the Iraqi government to register his fighters as official combatants and give them more weapons, vehicles and air support.

"The residents besieged by ISIL in western Ninawa are asking us and the security forces to quickly rescue them, and they constantly provide us with important intelligence, always asserting their cooperation and that they would stand with any military action that will save them from the control of terrorists," al-Shammari said.

Co-operative effort

"Nawader fighters hold important areas on the border with Syria, and they prevented ISIL elements from infiltrating and deploying their forces in Mosul," said Abdul Rahman al-Wakka, a member of the Ninawa Provincial Council.

The force fought a number of battles with ISIL in which "the terrorists suffered heavy losses and were deprived from the border crossing extending from the Syrian city of Raqa to Mosul", he said.

Al-Wakka said his local government is trying to improve capabilities of the force "within the national defence system in order to strengthen the fight against terrorism and expel its elements from Ninawa province and the country as a whole".

Former Iraqi military officer Ahmed al-Sharifi said the war on ISIL "requires the efforts of everyone, without exception".

"The involvement of residents in the fight is a key element in resolving any battle against terrorism and that participation must be strengthened to prepare for when ISIL falls," he told Diyaruna.

Al-Sharifi said the Nawader force and other local forces like it are making effective military contributions in the battle to liberate Iraq from ISIL, and are also making significant sacrifices.

"In my opinion, we must often rely on local residents to install security and stability in the liberated areas and to protect those areas from the return of the terrorists," he added.