Iraqi troops storm Qaim district and killed dozens of militants

Iraqi troops have been on high alerts in west of Mosul, after Erbil was declared to have stepped back from an agreement between with Baghdad. Speaking to Anadolu agency, Lt. Gen. Abdul Illah al-Atroushi, an officer from Iraqi army, said on Thursday, “Rapid Response forces, Federal Police, Counter-Terrorism Service and National Security were deployed in Zummar.”

“Federal troops received clear orders from the supreme military command over being read for emergency that could occur over the coming few hours, especially that the situations have deteriorated as negotiations between Baghdad and Erbil came to end,” he said.

Troops, according to Attroushi, “were awaiting the end of talks to agree on moving toward positions, that are still controlled by Peshmerga in Zummar, as well Faysh Khabur region, which includes two strategic borders with Syria and Turkey.” Since the morning, U.S.-led Coalition jets were seen flying above the region, he said.

The border crossing links between Iraqi Kurdistan and Turkey. The crossing has been under focus after Iraqi authorities imposed strict measures on it after Kurdistan held its independence referendum on September 25.

Iraqi government forces approached the southern borders of Erbil, capital of semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region, after taking over Kirkuk province from Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in October, fulfilling instructions made by Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi to retake areas where sovereignty is disputed with Kurdistan.

Baghdad had declared intentions to retake areas disputed on with Erbil following the Kurdistan Region’s vote for independence from Iraq in September, urging Peshmerga to cooperate with federal troops. An Iraqi army commander has said that forces managed to recapture 85 percent of the Islamic State stronghold town of Qaim, west of Anbar as operations continue against the group’s last bastions in Iraq.

Nuaman al-Zawbai, commander of the 7th division of al-Jazeera Operations command, told the Iraqi Media News Agency that “85% of Qaim had been totally liberated  after security forces controlled several regions and villages of the precinct”.

“The local government, in collaboration with security forces, has prepared a plan to repatriate families that migrated from the western regions, vetting official documentations of families eager to repatriate as a precaution against infiltration of liberated cities by terrorists,” Zawbai added.

Also speaking to the agency, Karim al-Dulaimi, head of the Obaidi precinct, Qaim, said Islamic State members had caused damages to 30 percent of the region’s infrastructure. He said militants detonated utilities including water and electricity networks as well as government and civilian buildings.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared late October the launch of operations to clear the towns of Rawa and Qaim, Islamic State’s last havens on the borders with Syria. Since Islamic State militants took over large areas of Iraq and Syria to establish a self-styled “caliphate” in 2014, Iraqi government forces, backed paramilitary troops and U.S.-led coalition, launched a wide-scale campaign to retake those regions.

So far, the offensives managed to retake Mosul, the group’s former capital, the town of Tal Afar, west of Nineveh, Kirkuk’s town of Hawija and Anbar’s Annah. Local authorities and human rights agencies believe Islamic State members are holding tens of thousands of civilians in their western Anbar havens as future human shields, having killed hundreds for attempting to escape.

On the other hand, Two Iraqi soldiers and Islamic State militants were killed in confrontations that occurred as army attempted to break into the group’s stronghold in western Anbar, a military source was quoted saying.

“Fierce clashes broke out between Iraqi troops and militants as the forces attempted invading Qaim from the eastern side,” the source told DPA. “Iraqi troops face resistance by terrorists that hamper its advance toward the center of the town.”

“Thirteen militants and two soldiers were killed, while three others were wounded,” the source said adding that the killed and injured were taken to hospitals for treatment. Earlier on the day, huge number of militants were killed as Iraqi fighter jets managed to shell an IS convoy, composed of ten vehicles, driven by the militants. All were destroyed as they attempted to escape from the town to Syria’s Al-BuKamal.

In a daily press briefing on Tuesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi promised announcing liberation of Qaim within “few days”. Many IS militants reportedly fled Qaim heading to al-BuKamal in Syria, after several leaders ran away and were killed in airstrikes by the Iraqi and U.S.-Coalition jets.

Operations were launched last week to liberate Qaim and Rawa towns. Each of Qaim and Rawa have been held by the extremist group since 2014, when it occupied one third of Iraq to proclaim a self-styled Islamic “Caliphate”.