Huda Jassim (Baghdad)
Diyala governorate is one of the governorates of Iraq most exposed to terrorist attacks by ISIS and to continuous security breaches since 2014.
Diyala, which is inhabited by about 1.5 million people of different nationalities, was attacked by ISIS, which took control of its areas adjacent to Salah al-Din Governorate and other northern areas in 2014, during the organization’s control of important areas in the country before the Iraqi forces liberated those areas in 2017, but The governorate remains one of the fragile areas that are constantly exposed to terrorist attacks, assassinations and kidnappings.
And the security services are intensively destroying the nests of the terrorist organization, the last of which was two days ago, when the security forces carried out a wide search operation in the orchards of the “Al-Awashek” area, which resulted in the destruction of three ISIS hideouts.
It seems that the matter has gotten out of control in other areas, as an Iraqi tribe in Diyala province sent a message to Prime Minister Muhammad al-Sudani and the Ministers of Interior and Defense, speaking of a large activity of ISIS terrorists in front of the security forces, after the assassination of one of its sons two days ago, demanding The dismissal of the Diyala police chief and a number of security leaders in the province.
Security expert Fadel Abu Ragheef justifies the repeated targeting by ISIS of Diyala province because of its proximity to Baghdad, and its proximity to Salah al-Din province, which is considered the most dangerous northern province in which the organization is active.
In an interview with Al-Ittihad, Abu Ragheef indicated that the diversity of geographical nature between rugged areas and valleys and the presence of mountain ranges (the Hamrin Mountains) helped the terrorist organization to hide in them and consider them as a launching pad for attacks on neighboring areas, which led to the difficulty of completely controlling those areas. Regions.
He considered that Diyala governorate needs a security and societal effort, activating the intelligence effort, erecting watchtowers, analyzing images of drones, protecting the borders, as well as erecting barricades to stop the repeated terrorist attacks.
In a meeting of Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani on Monday with the head of the Parliamentary Security and Defense Committee, he stressed the importance of security redeployment in cities, the rule of law, imposing the prestige of the state, and stressing the need to distance security institutions from partisan and political investment.
According to high-ranking security sources, Diyala Governorate will witness in the next few days a redeployment of the security forces in an attempt to control the violations that occur in it, especially its borders with the provinces and the extension of its borders with Iran.
The sources said that the security changes in the police and army leaderships will redeploy security according to well-thought-out plans and intelligence information.
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