BAGHDAD, May 4 — Islamic State group remnants in Iraq are exploiting a coronavirus lockdown, coalition troop withdrawals and simmering political disputes to ramp up deadly attacks, according to analysts and intelligence officials. The bloodiest so far was an ambush early Saturday that killed 10...
Monday, 04 May 2020 10:19 AM MYT
Iraq declared IS defeated in late 2017 but sleeper cells have survived in remote northern and western areas, where security gaps mean the group wages occasional attacks. Days before early Saturday's ambush — which was multi-pronged and took place in Salahaddin province — the jihadists claimed a suicide attack that wounded four people outside an intelligence headquarters in Kirkuk, a restive northern province.In the rural Diyala region northeast of Baghdad, daily attacks on agricultural fields have terrified farmers and recalled memories of IS' steady build-up across Iraq.
The jihadists could also be exploiting the political deadlock in Baghdad, where top leaders are focused on tense talks over a new government, the consequences of a collapse in global oil prices and budget disputes with autonomous Kurdish authorities. Seeing that the threat from IS had “shifted,” the coalition has pulled out of five Iraqi bases in recent weeks, including in Kirkuk and IS' former stronghold of Mosul.
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