Iraqi Army Searches for ISIS Cells Between Kirkuk, Saladin

ISIS member arrested. ( Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service)
ISIS member arrested. ( Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service)
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Iraqi Army Searches for ISIS Cells Between Kirkuk, Saladin

ISIS member arrested. ( Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service)
ISIS member arrested. ( Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service)

The dispute over the US military presence in Iraq has raged and the attacks on the US embassy in the Green Zone in central Baghdad have not abated as the Iraqi army continues to pursue ISIS cells in western and northern provinces.

The leader of the Sadrist Movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, warned about what he called “losing Iraq” amid rocket attacks and assassinations carried out by some factions of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).

“You should know that the things some armed groups affiliated with this broad force (the PMF) are doing is weakening Iraq, its people and state, which means strengthening the external forces, on top of which is the great evil America.”

The Fatah Alliance led by Hadi Al-Amiri condemned attacks that targeted diplomatic missions and official institutions. In a statement released on Thursday, the Alliance said: “These actions undermine the state and its authority.”

"The PMF has always been the primary defender of Iraq, its unity and its sovereignty, alongside our brothers in the security forces."

He urged its fighters to abide by the law and distance themselves from everything that harms Iraq.

In turn, the spokesman for the US-led international coalition fighting ISIS, Colonel Wayne Marotto, said that the groups who launched the attacks are “outlaws”.

He pointed out that their attacks do not threaten coalition forces in as much as they threaten Iraqi forces, adding that all necessary self-defense measures are being taken.

In its update on counterterrorism efforts, the Security Media Cell announced a search mission for ISIS remnants in the borders between Kirkuk, Saladin and Diyala on two axes.

Led by the Fifth Division of the Federal Police and its local units, “the first axis comprises searching the area between the Zghaitoun Valley and the Hemrin mountain range.”

As for the second axis, it sets out to search the area between the Qori Al-Shay Bridge to the Sarh Bridge, [and is led by] the divisions of the Infantry Brigade 52, Rapid Intervention Brigrade/ Brigade 3 and Al-Hashd Brigade 52.”



Sisi, King Abdullah Agree that Gaza Should Be Rebuilt Without Displacing Palestinians

Palestinians travel from the southern Gaza Strip towards the north following the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Netzarim Corridor, central Gaza Strip, 12 February 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
Palestinians travel from the southern Gaza Strip towards the north following the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Netzarim Corridor, central Gaza Strip, 12 February 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
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Sisi, King Abdullah Agree that Gaza Should Be Rebuilt Without Displacing Palestinians

Palestinians travel from the southern Gaza Strip towards the north following the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Netzarim Corridor, central Gaza Strip, 12 February 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
Palestinians travel from the southern Gaza Strip towards the north following the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Netzarim Corridor, central Gaza Strip, 12 February 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordanian King Abdullah II said that Gaza should be rebuilt without displacing Palestinians, Egypt's presidency said in a statement reporting a phone call between the two on Wednesday.

US President Donald Trump has continued to push for a plan to resettle the Palestinian population to both Egypt and Jordan, a proposal both countries have rejected repeatedly.

King Abdullah rejected any mass displacement of Palestinians after meeting with Trump on Tuesday.

During the meeting at the White House, Abdullah volunteered to accept up to 2,000 children from Gaza who have cancer or otherwise require medical treatment.
But in a post on X after the meeting, he “reiterated Jordan’s steadfast position against the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank," adding that it was a "unified Arab position.”

The Palestinians also reject Trump's plan, which they view as an attempt to forcibly displace them from part of their homeland.