Attacks in 3 cities in less than a week, in conjunction with the discussion of the issue of removing

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[size=52]Attacks in 3 cities in less than a week, in conjunction with the discussion of the issue of removing the factions from the Sunni cities[/size]

[size=45]Baghdad / Tamim Al-Hassan[/size]
[size=45]Gunmen almost took control of a village north of Baghdad, and carried out field executions against the population, in the first incident of its kind since the expulsion of the terrorist organization ISIS from the country 5 years ago. The last incident took place in northern Diyala, while the security forces were only one kilometer or more away, but they did not intervene![/size]
[size=45]More than one hypothesis is clashing about the recent wave of violence, which resulted in the death and injury of about 30 soldiers and civilians, including officers.
Within less than a week, gunmen carried out 3 attacks, which evolved from remote targeting to close combat and an attempt to seize civilian buildings.
These incidents took place at a time when the political forces were discussing the expulsion of the factions from the Sunni cities, and days after what was considered a "political cleansing" that took place in the Ministry of the Interior.
On the other hand, there are other hypotheses that talk about an “invasion” of the organization in response to the killing of the leader of “ISIS” earlier this month, and information about the influx of militants from Turkey!
In addition, the residents of the village of Albu Bali, in the district of Khalis, northeast of Baquba (the center of Diyala governorate), mourned the victims of the attack launched by gunmen the day before yesterday evening.
An informed source in Diyala said in an interview with (Al-Mada) that "the attack began at 8:45 pm on Sunday evening, when the residents heard the sounds of gunfire."
The source, who requested anonymity, added: "One of the villagers went out to make sure that the orchard was watered, and he was suddenly shot."
At the moment of hearing the sound of gunfire, the people went out, believing that there was a death case - clan societies usually shoot during funerals -.
And the source continues: “Before the people understood what was going on, the attack began against them, and the gunmen, who numbered less than 10, tried to occupy the houses.”
The residents heard the gunmen's cries threatening them with "slaughter," and the source continued: "The residents armed themselves and the confrontation began, which lasted for more than an hour."
An informed source close to the incident says, "The people of the village defended themselves, and the security forces were a little more than a kilometer away. They did not intervene and did not arrive at the scene of the accident."
The attackers, according to the testimonies of the villagers that Al-Mada contacted, had come on foot from a neighboring village called (Al-Jayala).
According to residents, the last village was occupied by al-Qaeda before it was cleared and conditions returned to normal in 2008. As for
Albu Bali, the clashes ended with the gunmen escaping through the same village, it lost 8 of its sons and 7 others who suffered various injuries.
Aqil Al-Bilawi, a relative of the victims, said in a phone call with (Al-Mada): “ISIS wants revenge on our village because we participated during the past years in the war against the organization.”
In 2014, when ISIS appeared in Mosul and then expanded to other cities, it did not enter the village (Albu Bali), but the residents of the village included army and police officers who participated in the liberation of Diyala.
There are doubts about the coincidence of the escalation of violence with the political changes taking place in the country, including discussions within the Sunni conditions paper for the formation of the last government, which included withdrawing the factions from their cities.
A Sunni politician, who asked not to be named, said in an interview with Al-Mada: "It was expected that the attacks would escalate after the formation of the government. Everything in Iraq is linked to politics."
The politician, a former deputy, was surprised by "the timing of the recent incidents that took place in Tarmiya and then in southwestern Kirkuk, which are Sunni areas, with the demands of withdrawing the factions."
And the politician adds: "These attacks may disrupt the talks to empty the cities of the factions, but rather the opposite will happen."
He described the condition of evacuating the cities from the factions as "the most difficult of the conditions" in the political agreement upon which the government was formed, due to the factions' association with economic activities in those cities.
On the other hand, security sources indicate that the recent breaches may be due to "the recent unconsidered security changes."
An officer in an intelligence agency, who asked not to be named, said in an interview with Al-Mada: “There are political changes that have taken place in sensitive security sectors, regardless of security opinions.”
He considered what took place in the past two weeks as a "political cleansing", as more than 30,000 officers and affiliates were changed in the Ministry of Interior, including officers with the rank of brigadier general, and other changes took place in the joints at the highest level in the defense.
Parties in the coordination framework that formed the last government complain of interference and pressure in appointments to sensitive security positions, which is one of the reasons the Shiite alliance threatens to disintegrate.
Last Wednesday, gunmen attacked the town of Tarmiyah, north of Baghdad, and a captain in the army was killed, while two of his companions were wounded while attacking their patrol with an explosive device.
After 4 days, the gunmen got closer to the security forces, killing 9 from the interior and wounding 3 others, in an attack with explosive devices, then with machine guns, in the Riyadh region, southwest of Kirkuk.
In Tarmiyah and Riyadh, the results of the long and continuous cleansing operations in the last five years and the presence of the factions there are ambiguous.
In the village of Albu Bali, where the latest attack took place, the Hamrin Hills, one of the most famous strongholds of ISIS, are only 18 kilometers away.
Hamrin is considered the militants’ dream because of the severity and ruggedness of the land and the presence of caves that the organization expanded during the period of what was its control or what was known as the “empowerment phase” between 2014 to 2017.
Until now, the residents of the villages adjacent to the hill believe that there are camps for training militants, while the military forces direct continuous raids over there.
According to military reports transmitted by the officer in the intelligence apparatus, "the escalation of operations came in response to the killing of the leader of ISIS in Syria."
And the Central Command of the US Army revealed, earlier this month, that the leader of ISIS, Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, was killed in the middle of last month.
The officer explains that "the possibility of revenge is weak, but it is possible, especially since the areas where the attacks took place still have spots that have not been cleared."
On the other hand, Representative Mustafa Sanad of Basra revealed a call he received a week ago from an Iraqi residing in Turkey warning him of the influx of armed men into Diyala.
Sanad, who is close to the coordination framework, showed a conversation that took place between him and the supposed person on Facebook Messenger, who said that he is from Samarra and lives in southern Turkey.
The Iraqi, residing in Turkey, said that he had information "about the imminent crossing of 9 armed men with silencers (weapons)" heading to the ferry area in Diyala.
Sanad confirms in his post that he had previously informed the "concerned" of that message, which he received from an unknown person.
Intelligence is often leaked before attacks happen, but often these warnings are not taken seriously.
Aqil Al-Bilawi says that their village (Albu Bali) has been filled since dawn Monday with the army and the police. Yesterday, the Army Chief of Staff, Abdel Amir Yarallah, and the Deputy Commander of Joint Operations, Qais Khalaf Al-Muhammadawi, arrived.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Defense, the high-level delegation came to find out the details of the recent criminal incident there.
On the other hand, Al-Bilawi calls on the government to "expand the inclusion of the people of the village in the army and police, and to form a regiment to mobilize the people to prevent the recurrence of attacks."[/size]
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