عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Iraqi Forces Arrest ISIS Members In New Security Campaign

Security forces in Iraq. (AFP file photo)
Security forces in Iraq. (AFP file photo)
TT
TT

Iraqi Forces Arrest ISIS Members In New Security Campaign

Security forces in Iraq. (AFP file photo)
Security forces in Iraq. (AFP file photo)

Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Forces continue to chase ISIS members in the north of Iraq staring from Kirkuk, which witnessed on Saturday a massacre that killed dozens from the federal police.

Major General Yahya Rasool, the spokesperson for the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces, said that Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Forces are achieving victories in eradicating ISIS in the country.

A total of eight terrorists were arrested in various regions upon accurate intelligence information.

Moreover, Rasool said anti-terror unit snipers took out some of the militants in three provinces including Kirkuk.

The operation came after a deadly ISIS attack on a federal police outpost south of Kirkuk on Sunday, which left 13 members of security forces dead and wounded dozens.

Also, Iraqi Defense Minister Juma Inad arrived in Kirkuk on Wednesday heading a high-level security delegation following the attack to be briefed on current security measures, state media reported.

The delegation included Defense Minister, Army Chief of Staff, military adviser to the prime minister and deputy of joint operations, and others.

Member of Iraq's Parliamentary Security and Defense Committee Abdul-Khaleq al-Azzawi considered the developments in Rashad in Kirkuk as a blatant security violation.

He further confirmed that investigative committees have been formed to look into this.

Azzawi assured that it is unlikely that a similar massacre could occur in Diyala because the nature of security challenges is different there. Moreover, the governate underwent eight redeployment operations in the tensed areas.

Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced the appointment of Christian Ritscher of Germany as the Special Adviser and Head of the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by ISIS in Iraq.

The team was established pursuant to Security Council resolution 2379 (2017), to support domestic efforts to hold ISIS accountable by collecting, preserving, and storing evidence in Iraq of acts that may amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide committed by ISIS in Iraq.

Ritscher will succeed Karim Asad Ahmad Khan of the United Kingdom, who was the first Special Adviser of UNITAD.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Italy’s Foreign Minister Heads to Syria to Encourage Post-Assad Transition

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
TT
TT

Italy’s Foreign Minister Heads to Syria to Encourage Post-Assad Transition

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he would travel to Syria on Friday to encourage the country's transition following the ouster of President Bashar Assad by insurgents, and appealed on Europe to review its sanctions on Damascus now that the political situation has changed.
Tajani presided over a meeting in Rome on Thursday of foreign ministry officials from five countries, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the United States.
The aim, he said, is to coordinate the various post-Assad initiatives, with Italy prepared to make proposals on private investments in health care for the Syrian population.
Going into the meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and their European counterparts, Tajani said it was critical that all Syrians be recognized with equal rights. It was a reference to concerns about the rights of Christians and other minorities under Syria’s new de facto authorities of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HT.
“The first messages from Damascus have been positive. That’s why I’m going there tomorrow, to encourage this new phase that will help stabilize the international situation,” Tajani said.
Speaking to reporters, he said the European Union should discuss possible changes to its sanctions on Syria. “It’s an issue that should be discussed because Assad isn’t there anymore, it’s a new situation, and I think that the encouraging signals that are arriving should be further encouraged,” he said.
Syria has been under deeply isolating sanctions by the US, the European Union and others for years as a result of Assad’s brutal response to what began as peaceful anti-government protests in 2011 and spiraled into civil war.
HTS led a lightning insurgency that ousted Assad on Dec. 8 and ended his family’s decades-long rule. From 2011 until Assad’s downfall, Syria’s uprising and civil war killed an estimated 500,000 people.
The US has gradually lifted some penalties since Assad departed Syria for protection in Russia. The Biden administration in December decided to drop a $10 million bounty it had offered for the capture of a Syrian opposition leader whose forces led the ouster of Assad last month.
Syria’s new leaders also have been urged to respect the rights of minorities and women. Many Syrian Christians, who made up 10% of the population before Syria’s civil war, either fled the country or supported Assad out of fear of insurgents.