Anbar police in co-ordination with the Anbar Health Directorate recently launched a blood donation campaign to support the ongoing battles against the "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL) in Mosul.

"The security forces, including the local police and emergency units in Anbar, particularly in the city of Fallujah, have launched a blood drive for wounded members of the Iraqi forces and civilians in Mosul," said Anbar police chief Maj. Gen. Hadi Kassar Erzaij.

"This is a clear response to ISIL that the people of Iraq stand together as one nation in the face of bigotry and extremism," he told Diyaruna.

The two-day blood drive, held at Fallujah Hospital on December 8th and 9th, saw a significant response from members of the security forces, local police and emergency units.

"Scores of donors came to the hospital to donate their blood," said Dr. Ahmed al-Dulaimi, who works at Fallujah Hospital.

Even civilian turnout was high, he added, as dozens of civilians donated their blood to help raise the large amounts that needed to be collected and sent off to different parts of Mosul.

Iraqi people stand united

"The blood drive in Anbar will not be the last as there will be others [...] when the need arises for any kind of support in the fight against terrorism in Mosul and Salaheddine or any other Iraqi province," Erzaij said.

The Iraqi people stand united and can not be divided by a "terrorist and extremist ideology" that kills children and women, he said.

"The security forces are not only responsible for protecting the country but also for helping wounded civilians, the victims of terrorism, that are in need of blood transfusions," said Fallujah police chief Col. Jamal al-Jumaili.

Over 400 people have donated blood in Fallujah and dozens of others gave their blood at their military headquarters in Ramadi and Fallujah, he told Diyaruna.

"Medical staff dispatched ambulances with the latest equipment to ensure that all types of blood can be collected and then sent to the battlefields in Mosul to save the lives of civilians and members of the security forces," al-Jumaili said.

ISIL and all other terrorist groups try to sow the seeds of discord among the people of Iraq and spread extremist and foreign ideologies, he said.

However, "the level of awareness and sophistication of the people and even soldiers in the security forces makes it clear that Iraq is a united country in its people, its blood and its land", he said.

ISIL 'rejects life, wants chaos to reign'

Ammar Hameed al-Alwani, a member of the Anbar police 1st regiment, said his brother is an Iraqi army soldier fighting on Mosul's western front.

"We have learned that ISIL has used improvised explosive devices against several civilians and they need our donated blood to treat their wounds and our prayers for their recovery," he told Diyaruna.

"The ISIL terrorist group [...] mercilessly kills people and beheads and burns innocent civilians if they listen to music or use mobile phones," he said, adding that this is proof of the group's criminality, which even extends to those who try to run away from its grip.

"This group rejects life and wants chaos and destruction to reign in our country," al-Alwani said.

"We will donate blood to the battlefield in support of liberating our people who are being slaughtered and targeted by ISIL's missiles, bombs and explosives," he said.

Majid Sakr al-Thiabi of the Anbar police tactical fighting regiment said the "blood donation effort is a clear response against terrorism".

"There are those who are fighting by donating their blood in defence of their land and people wherever duty calls, whether it is in Mosul, Anbar, Karbala, Najaf or Basra," he told Diyaruna.

Iraqi forces are fully prepared to mobilise in any part of Iraq and provide military, combat and moral support whenever needed, he added.