Seven years after the liberation of Iraq from ISIS, Baghdad is concerned about the presence of the o

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[size=52]Seven years after the liberation of Iraq from ISIS, Baghdad is concerned about the presence of the organization’s Brotherhood on the border[/size]

[size=45]Baghdad/ Tamim Al-Hassan[/size]
[size=45]The anniversary of Iraq’s victory over ISIS this year comes amid exceptional circumstances in the region, following recent developments in Lebanon and Gaza, and fears of the expansion of factions with “jihadist” backgrounds that control most of Syria.
On the other hand, Iraqi cities that were under the control of the organization are still suffering from the consequences of what happened seven years ago; compensation has not been paid, the displaced have not returned to their homes, and the file of the “disappeared” has not been closed. Armed factions also continue to influence the security scene.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani stressed in his speech on the anniversary of the victory the importance of addressing the gaps that enabled terrorism to infiltrate in 2014.
On this day seven years ago, former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared the “final victory” over ISIS, after more than three years of its control over nearly half of Iraq’s area, and the displacement of more than six million people to refugee camps.
The cost of the war was extremely high, with the number of victims reaching about 50,000 dead, both civilians and soldiers. The cost of reconstruction was estimated at more than $100 billion, while the military effort amounted to about $300 billion.
In his last speech, Al-Sudani stressed that “terrorism no longer has a foothold in Iraq, and its remnants will only be defeated and flee before our armed forces.”
On December 10, 2017, Al-Abadi announced that this day would become a national holiday celebrated annually, but it was not included in the holiday law passed by parliament last May.
At the time, state television broadcast patriotic songs celebrating the security forces and the Popular Mobilization Forces, with scenes of celebrations shown in the streets of Baghdad and other provinces.
This year, the anniversary of the victory coincides with the control of the Syrian factions (Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham) over the regime there after President Bashar al-Assad fled.
This group is headed by Ahmed al-Sharaa, known as “Abu Muhammad al-Julani,” a former leader in Al-Qaeda.
Safaa al-Aasam, a former brigadier general, believes that the organization could return to Iraq after the events in Syria. Ahmed al-Yasiri, a political researcher based in Australia, agrees with him and warns of possible movements by sleeper cells, in statements to (Al-Mada).
Despite celebrating victory in 2017, Abadi stressed at the time the need to remain prepared and vigilant to confront any new terrorist threat, stressing that terrorism is a permanent enemy and the battle with it is ongoing.
Six months after declaring victory, Abadi said that there are rapid measures and qualitative operations to eliminate ISIS cells trying to launch attacks outside cities.
Since then, Iraqi forces have carried out about 20 security campaigns to comb more than half a million square kilometers, focusing on the Hatra desert south of Mosul and the valleys near Rutba southwest of Anbar.
Concerns on the border
In recent days, Lieutenant General Abdul Amir Yarallah, the army’s chief of staff, has been following the situation on the border with Syria for fear of infiltration by militants.
However, military leaders insist that ISIS is no longer able to operate effectively inside Iraq, despite carrying out sporadic attacks.
A day before the “victory anniversary,” Iraqi security forces clashed with a wanted “terrorist” in the city of Fallujah in Anbar province, resulting in the loss of two officers.
Reports indicated that the “terrorist” was a prisoner in Syria and escaped after the fall of the regime there, before the Iraqi authorities denied the veracity of this news.
Last month, ISIS claimed responsibility for a “qualitative operation,” according to experts, in Kirkuk Governorate, where it planted an explosive device in an oil well, killing and wounding six soldiers, including high-ranking officers.
The organization exploits security gaps in the “disputed areas,” which extend over a distance of more than 560 kilometers, from Khanaqin on the Iranian border (east) to the Suhaila area on the Syrian border (west). The width of these security gaps in some areas reaches 50 kilometers.
Federal forces and Peshmerga forces are stationed on opposite lines along these gaps. Since 2019, two “joint brigades” have been formed to fill these gaps, but they “have not yet settled in their positions,” according to experts.
Will ISIS return?
Regarding the possibility of ISIS returning to Iraq, Atheel al-Nujaifi, a leader in the United Party, said that “there is no longer any possibility for ISIS to return, not only to control areas, but even to influence as a dangerous terrorist act
.” In an interview with Al-Mada newspaper, al-Nujaifi added that “ISIS has lost the environment in which it can operate, and its remaining members have been exhausted by events and years, and they no longer have the ability to move as they did before.”
Government and unofficial estimates indicate that what remains of the organization in Iraq ranges between 2,000 and 3,000 members, distributed in isolated areas.
al-Nujaifi, who was governor of Nineveh during ISIS’s control of the city in 2014, believes that “the emergence of other new groups with extremist ideas and concepts may be possible, and this depends on the way the Iraqi government deals with the upcoming regional situation, especially after the decline of Iranian influence in Syria, and the possibility of American pressure on Iraq to limit Iran’s influence.”
Some analyses suggest that Iraq may be the next destination after Syria, which prompted wings within the Shiite political system to urge the government to take action and not wait for what will happen in Damascus in the coming days.
Open files
In this context, Ziad al-Arar, an academic and researcher in political affairs, said, “In order for the joy of victory to be complete, the country’s leaders and politicians must be highly patriotic and put the interests of the citizen and the country before their partisan interests.”
Al-Arar added, in an interview with (Al-Mada), that the government and the concerned parties must “close the files left by ISIS, such as returning the displaced to their areas and homes. It is not logical for people to remain refugees despite the liberation of their homes in more than one area.”
So far, the city of Jurf al-Sakhar, south of Baghdad, is still empty of residents, in addition to the areas of Al-Awja and Al-Uwaynat in Salah al-Din Governorate, and other villages east of the governorate and in Diyala.
The file of the “disappeared” has not been resolved yet, whether the missing are in prisons or were killed during military operations against “ISIS.”
Al-Arar called for “ending the compensation file, and helping those affected by terrorism, and even those who were harmed by military operations, by granting them appropriate compensation from the state.”
The researcher also demanded that the state and its agencies control the political and media discourse related to this file, and that outbidding, such as saying: “We are the ones who liberated you” and the like, should end.
He stressed that “liberating the cities and fighting terrorism was achieved through the efforts of all Iraqi forces, with the support of the entire world.”
Al-Arar warned against the return of sectarian or religious discourse, stressing that this discourse “disturbs the serenity of victories,” as he put it.[/size]
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