Dead and wounded among Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq
ERBIL, KRG, Iraq (North Press) – On Thursday, the Popular Mobilization Forces announced that eight of its members were killed and wounded in an attack by the Islamic State (ISIS) in the outskirts of Khanaqin district in Diyala province, in Iraq.
The Popular Mobilization Media center said, in a statement, that its forces ended what it described as the terrorist attack launched by ISIS north of Khanaqin district in Diyala governorate.
The attack was thwarted and the attackers were forced to flee, the statement noted.
Three were reported dead and five wounded during the attack, the statement added.
Observers see the need for coordination between the Iraqi forces and the Peshmerga, to fill the security vacuums that have become a source of security concern, especially in light of repeated attacks, especially in the areas separating the governorates of the Kurdistan region of Iraq (KRG) and other Iraqi governorates.
In the middle of February, Khalil Khadadad, a former head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) organizations in Jalawla, told North Press that the central government is responsible for the security tensions in the region due to ISIS remnants scattered in the countryside of Khanaqin.
He pointed out that the reasons for the inability of the controlling forces to impose security, the lack of experience in the security sectors, which are mostly affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Forces, in addition to their poor relations with the residents of the region.
“The loss of experience leads to a deterioration in security coordination. Consequently, a security vacuum arises and attacks increase,” he added.