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Iraqi Army, Peshmerga Launch Joint Operation Against ISIS South Of Erbil


Iraqi Security Media Cell announced on Tuesday the launch of a joint operation with Peshmerga forces against ISIS, focused on an area adjacent to the administrative borders of Erbil Governorate to the south.

In a statement, the cell said that the operation was launched, at dawn today, Tuesday, and is the fourth stage of Operation Solid Will, aimed at pursuing the remnants of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Jabal Qarah Dagh Mountain.
Alternate spelling Qarachogh.
The operation is taking place in a joint security operation, in which units from the 14th and 16th Divisions reinforced with tanks, and units of the Peshmerga forces, and forces of the Counter-Terrorism Service participated as well.

The operation is backed by Iraqi army aircraft, according to the statement, in accordance with security understandings between the Iraqi army and the Peshmerga.
Rudaw adds:
Units of the Peshmerga participating in the operation include the Zeravani and counter-terrorism forces and are supported by the Iraqi air force and a reinforcement of tanks.

Mount Qarachogh and its vicinity are located in a security vacuum between Baghdad and Erbil, stretching across several provinces including Kirkuk, Salahaddin, and Diyala, where locals live in constant fear of ISIS attacks.

Kurdish security forces on Thursday with coalition support announced they had taken down four members of ISIS who were behind a deadly attack that killed ten Peshmerga and three civilians in villages at the foothill of Mount Qarachogh.

The latest phase of Operation Solid Will comes three months after Iraq conducted another phase in its western provinces under the supervision of the Joint Operations Command and with the participation of numerous forces including the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).

A Peshmerga operation in Mount Qarachogh in May led to the deaths of two ISIS fighters and the destruction of the jihadists' hideouts.

In its propaganda magazine on Thursday, ISIS claimed to have conducted 4 attacks in Iraq from July 7 to July 13, killing and injuring 6 people.

Posted by: badanov 2022-07-20
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=638933