Iraq says Islamic State “no longer poses a threat” and has been cornered by security forces

September 2 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani has said that the Islamic State jihadist group “no longer poses a threat” to the country and has argued that the cells present in its territory are “isolated groups” that have been cornered by security forces operations.

Al Sudani, who met on Sunday with the commander of the Global Coalition against Islamic State, Kevin Leahy, stressed that these cells “have become isolated cells that hide in remote areas to avoid capture.”

He also stressed that “the Armed Forces continue their military operations to capture the remnants of the terrorist group and locate their hideouts,” in the framework of a meeting with Leahy to discuss the end of the coalition’s deployment in the country and to discuss existing cooperation in anti-terrorist matters.

Al Sudani’s comments come days after the death of 15 suspected members of the jihadist group in a joint operation between US and Iraqi forces in western Iraq, which left at least seven US soldiers dead.

The jihadist group has several hundred fighters spread across several mobile cells within Iraqi territory, where it has carried out several attacks in recent months, despite the territorial defeat of its “caliphate” and the operations carried out by the security forces.

In fact, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) acknowledged in July that the group is reconstituting itself in Iraq and Syria and that it is regaining its lost capacity after the disappearance of the ‘caliphate’. In this regard, it said that the Islamic State had carried out more than 150 attacks in these two countries between January and June, so it could double the number of attacks in 2023 if it maintains the pace for the rest of the year.