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| Iraq |
| ISIS suicide bomber detonates near army position in north Iraq |
| 2025-03-21 |
| [Rudaw] Two ISIS turbans, including a suicide-bomber who self-detonated, were killed during festivities with Iraqi security forces in northern Iraq on Wednesday, according to Baghdad’s Security Media Cell. "After intensive monitoring and the use of technical and intelligence resources, a force from the second battalion of the 88th [Iraqi Army] Brigade and Military Intelligence Directorate detachments within the Eastern Salahaddin Operations Command set up an ambush in the Palkana area in Tuz district [north of Salahaddin province]," the cell stated, adding that "the operation successfully eliminated a cell consisting of four ISIS terrorists." "The ambush resulted in casualties within the terrorist group, with two killed - one of whom was a jacket wallah wearing an boom belt - and others maimed," the cell added, noting that the Iraqi forces were also "supported by drones from the Military Intelligence Directorate." Earlier on Wednesday, an advisor to the Salahaddin governor, Kawa Sheikhani, told Rudaw that the ambush "to root out four ISIS bully boyz was set in an area between the town of Kifri [in Sulaimani province] and the town of Tuz Khurmatu [in the district of Tuz in Salahaddin province, 175 km north of Baghdad]." An informed security source in Tuz Khurmatu, who spoke to Rudaw on conditions of anonymity, corroborated Sheikhani’s remarks stating that "ISIS bully boyz clashed with Iraqi forces and the suicide bomber was the group’s commander in Salahaddin province. The other bully boyz managed to escape to [their hideout in] Palakan mountain [east of Salahaddin]." "The Iraqi army had detected the turbans’ movement through thermal cameras," the source noted, adding that "no injuries were recorded among Iraqi forces." Kifri is part of Sulaimani’s Garmiyan administration and borders areas held by the Iraqi federal government. Erbil and Baghdad have been working jointly to address security gaps between their territories, which have allowed ISIS bully boyz room to maneuver. The head of Iraq’s Security Media Cell in late February confirmed to Rudaw that Iraqi security forces have largely eradicated ISIS from the country, with only a few hundred bully boyz remaining in remote areas. Major General Saad Maan stated that some 400 to 600 ISIS bully boyz are still scattered across uninhabitable regions of Iraq, emphasizing that local communities "are rejecting their presence, and no one is harboring them." He further explained that "for over a year, we have not faced direct attacks from ISIS and the number of explosions" caused by improvised bombs (IEDs) or suicide-bombers "has been minimal." He underscored that Iraqi forces "are taking the initiative to strike first." Related: Tuz district: 2020-09-02 Iraq adopted new strategy to pursue ISIS terrorists and thwart attacks Tuz district: 2016-07-21 Kurds down ISIS drone in Salahuddin Tuz district: 2014-10-31 7 persons killed, injured in Salah-il-Din Related: Salahaddin: 2025-02-20 Kurdish shepherd recounts suspected ISIS attack in Tuz Khurmatu Salahaddin: 2025-02-16 Iraqi forces strike ISIS positions in ongoing campaign against group’s remnants Salahaddin: 2025-02-06 Iraqi forces, with CENTCOM support, conduct a precise airstrike, killing five ISIS members near Kirkuk |
| Posted by:trailing wife |