Iraq Launches Operation against ISIS West of Baghdad

An Iraqi army helicopter and military vehicles are seen in the desert west of Baghdad. (Joint Operations Command)
An Iraqi army helicopter and military vehicles are seen in the desert west of Baghdad. (Joint Operations Command)
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Iraq Launches Operation against ISIS West of Baghdad

An Iraqi army helicopter and military vehicles are seen in the desert west of Baghdad. (Joint Operations Command)
An Iraqi army helicopter and military vehicles are seen in the desert west of Baghdad. (Joint Operations Command)

Iraq’s Joint Operations Command announced on Sunday the launch of a major operation to crack down on ISIS in the al-Anbar desert west of Baghdad.

In a statement, the Joint Operations command media center said the operation will include units from the al-Jazira, Anbar and Karbala provinces.

Forces from the Defense and Interior Ministries, Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and anti-terrorism agency will take part in the mission.

The statement added that the operation was being carried out based on intelligence information about terrorism activity in the desert region.

The security units have prepared their plans, which are aimed at defeating the remnants of the ISIS terrorist group and destroying their hideouts, it stressed.

PMF operations commander in the Anbar province Qassem Mosleh said the operation is the largest to be carried out by Iraqi forces in the western desert.

It aims to defeat terrorist plots in Anbar, bolster security and stability and pursue terrorist ISIS remnants, he continued in a statement.

He confirmed intelligence reports that spoke of ISIS activity aimed at undermining security in Anbar.



France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
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France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)

Paris declined to comment on Algeria’s “strong condemnation” of the French government’s decision to recognize Morocco’s claim over the Sahara.

The office of the French Foreign Ministry refused to respond to an AFP request for a comment on the Algeria’s stance.

It did say that further comments could impact the trip Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is set to make to France in late September or early October.

The visit has been postponed on numerous occasions over disagreements between the two countries.

France had explicitly expressed its constant and clear support for the autonomy rule proposal over the Sahara during Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne’s visit to Morocco in February, reported AFP.

The position has helped improve ties between Rabat and Paris.

On Thursday, the Algerian Foreign Ministry expressed “great regret and strong denunciation" about the French government's decision to recognize an autonomy plan for the Western Sahara region "within Moroccan sovereignty”.

Algeria was informed of the decision by France in recent days, an Algerian foreign ministry statement added.

The ministry also said Algeria would draw all the consequences from the decision and hold the French government alone completely responsible.