Despite the frustration of the “Ramadan Battle”, what is stopping the Iraqi army from ending terrorism?

For two weeks, Baghdad has been on a security alert since the terrorist organization ISIS vowed to “revenge” its former leader, Abu Ibrahim al-Qurashi, who was killed by an American raid last February.

The security forces thwarted the “Ramadan Battle” – related to ISIS operations – in the cities of Anbar, Salah al-Din and Diyala as part of the second round of Operation “Solid Will”, the military operation launched by the government on March 28.

The “hard will” campaigns were concentrated in the Jazira desert and the Badia in the west, the border areas with Syria, and the western and northern cities that witness security and sectarian tension from time to time.

Following these campaigns, Al-Kazemi announced, on Tuesday, that the forces had “thwarted ISIS terrorist attacks on Baghdad”, with a “qualitative operation.”

The Baghdad Operations Command forces killed two suicide bombers, including Muhammad Saddam al-Mashhadani, the administrative and security official of ISIS in Baghdad, before blowing themselves up inside.

tempting atmosphere

With the success of the security operations, however, Iraqi experts warn that the political stalemate as a result of the failure to form the government is reflected in national security; Where terrorist groups thrive in the struggle of political blocs.

Ahmed Al-Sharifi, a former officer and security expert, told “Sky News Arabia” that “the confused situation may give ISIS some courage to regain its activity, in addition to the fact that the borders are still not fully controlled.”

At this point, he pointed out that the border infiltration “adds human resources to ISIS.” He also pointed out that political differences are reflected in the army, which is affected by the conflict of balances and quotas, and this is reflected in the fighting skills and the command, control and oversight system necessary to track terrorist activities.

Since the October elections, the winners and losers have been wrangling over government formation; The “Save a Homeland” alliance, led by the winning Sadrist movement, insists on forming a national majority government, while the “Coordination Framework” alliance, which includes pro-Iranian blocs, insists on being a consensual government to compensate for its losses.

arming the army

Since the 2003 US invasion, Iraq has been suffering from the infiltration of terrorists through the Syrian port, which is linked to the Jordanian port by a border triangle, deserts and vast valleys.

And regarding the “hard will” operation dealing with the difficult places in which ISIS is present, Lieutenant-General Yahya Rasoul, a spokesman for the Office of the Commander of the Armed Forces, said: “Our sectors were able to carry out qualitative and proactive operations, through air strikes launched by air hawks, in the most difficult areas of a complex geographical nature.”

He explains that ISIS is currently operating in mobile detachments, with a number of between 3 and 6 people, noting that the security forces have begun to see great cooperation from citizens.

But the strategic expert Sarmad Al-Bayati believes that the army’s lack of modern equipment makes the task of eliminating terrorism difficult, stressing that there are those who do not want to equip the Iraqi army with the latest technologies.

He tells “Sky News Arabia”, for example, that there is information about an ISIS presence in the Western Desert, and it may be in the Jazira and Badia sectors, and if the government had professional drones, it would have eased the task for the forces operating in difficult geographical and climatic conditions.

And he concludes: “The world has changed, and most wars today begin with professional aircraft instead of heavy equipment and the great effort that is being poured on the Iraqi fighter.” With his praise of the forces’ efforts, he warned against “the surprise of ISIS, which is still moving within partitions in the western and northern regions.”