Iraqi Forces Ready to Start 2nd Phase of Anbar Liberation Operation
The Iraqi forces have prepared to kick off the second phase of the liberation operation in the Western part of al-Anbar province.
“As the first phase of al-Anbar liberation operation has come to an end, Iraq’s joint military forces are now ready to fight the ISIL terrorists in the province in the second phase of the operation,” Haditha Region Police Chief Farouq al-Juqeifi told reporters on Saturday.
Al-Juqeifi said that the first phase of the military operations will focus on winning back al-Sakra and al-Zawiya areas under ISIL control in Anbar province.
Meantime, Al-Jazeera Military Operations Commander Qassem al-Mohammadi said that the liberation operation of al-Anbar’s Western regions has started with the participation of the Iraqi army, Federal Police and Tribal Forces with aerial backup.
Iraq’s joint military forces also targeted ISIL’s concentration centers in al-Sahaji region in Western Anbar, killing 14 terrorists.
On Friday, an Iraqi defense ministry statement disclosed that the Iraqi forces discovered a major ISIL training camp in the Western part of Anbar province during brief Iraqi army operations targeting the militant group’s strongholds.
The camp was discovered during the military operations to recapture al-Sakra and al-Zawiya regions west of the province, said the statement, which revealed that all the contents of that facility were set to fire by Iraqi troops.
The statement added that most of the ISIL attacks at the province’s town of Haditha launched from that camp which, it said, was located in a rugged terrain. It added that the forces had managed to erect barracks to protect the area from any attack.
Preparations were underway for next operations targeting ISIL hideouts in Annah and Rawa, according to the statement.
The Iraqi army command in Anbar declared on the 5th of January the start of operations to retake Western Anbar regions, close to the borders with Syria, from militants. The operations lasted for a few days, recapturing a few villages, before halting again. Observers see confusion regarding readiness to launch operations in the province, pointing out to the fact that the start of the security offensive was not officially declared by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi as was the case with Mosul, where government forces have entered a third month of battles with the group.
Security sources said a week earlier that the government had decided to halt battles in Anbar until the end of operations in Mosul. The replacement of the army’s operations commander in Anbar, Ismail al-Mahallawi, cast more doubts on the reason behind the halt.
Iraqi fighter jets, however, have carried out occasional airstrikes on ISIL locations in Western Anbar.
FNA
R.S