Huge bombing hits Iraqi Baghdad injuring two civilians

Iraqi forces denied, on Thursday, claims made by officials in Kurdistan, Iraq, regarding the arrival of US forces to the disputed Kirkuk. Erbil, however, insisted on the announcement.

Iraq’s Joint Operations Command said in a statement, Thursday, that some media outlets talked about the advance of US forces in Kirkuk, reporting sources from Kurdistan, Iraq. Yet, the command denied the news and affirmed that there is no increase of the coalition forces not in Kirkuk nor in the rest of Iraqi territories.

The statement, which was posted on Facebook, stressed that it is not the foreign forces mission to seize the territory, and they don’t even have the possibility to do so in terms of soldiers and equipment. 

“Kirkuk security is an Iraqi national responsibility,” clarified the statement.

Kurdish counter-terrorism forces sources reported that US army forces are advancing to Kirkuk in order to form a joint operations chamber that is entitled to coordinate and cooperate with the Iraqi Army to ensure Kirkuk's security.

Jalal Sheikh Naji, officer at counter-terrorism forces in Sulaimaniyah, told Asharq Al-Awsat that “the purpose behind recruiting these forces is to reinforce intelligence and security cooperation among the US forces, Iraqi Army and counter-terrorism bodies in order to protect the security condition in Kirkuk.” 

He added that there are suspicious movements in the region, requiring more security vigilance. 

“The presence of US forces will solidify internal security in Kirkuk, and the region in general,” he continued. 

Naji pointed out that as the US army spreads in the camp, a joint operations chamber will be formed to serve intelligence and security coordination that would be quite helpful in confronting terrorists in case they dare to return and threaten the region.

 A Christian women from Nineveh has been freed after being kidnapped for three years by Islamic State members, paramilitary troops announced.

“Group of our members, in coordination with others in Syria, managed to free Rita Habib, a Christian woman from Nineveh, west of Iraq,” the Babylon movement, fighting under the umbrella of al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces)

“Habib has been abducted by IS for three years. She was freed at Deir al-Zour in Syria , east of Syria,” it added.

The militant group has kidnapped thousands of Yazidi and Christian women after controlling large regions in Iraq and Syria. On July 10, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory over Islamic State militants who had held Mosul, the second largest Iraqi city since 2014.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi said in November that his country defeated Islamic State over the military level, but will declare final victory after desert areas are purged of militants.

A government campaign, backed by paramilitary troops and the coalition has been fighting, since October 2016, the militant group, which declared a self-styled “caliphate” from Mosul in June 2014.

The war against IS has displaced nearly five million people, with tens of thousands of civilians and militants killed since the launch of the offensives to recapture occupied cities.

Two civilians were wounded in a bomb blast west of Baghdad, a security source told SNG website on Thursday.

“A roadside bomb went off in Abu Ghraib city in western Baghdad, leaving two civilians injured,” the source said.

“A security force sealed off the blast site, while ambulances carried the wounded to a nearby hospital,” the source added.

Earlier in the day, unidentified gunmen opened fire against a security checkpoint of Tribal Mobilization Forces in al-Sayyed Abdullah region, south of Baghdad. One personnel was killed, while two others were wounded.

Also, a bomb, placed near stores in al-Taji region, north of Baghdad, went off, leaving three persons wounded.

Violence in the country has surged further with the emergence of Islamic State Sunni extremist militants who proclaimed an “Islamic Caliphate” in Iraq and Syria in 2014.

The surge in violence between armed groups and government forces has resulted in over 3 million internally displaced persons across Iraq and left more than 11 million in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The Iraqi capital has seen almost daily bombings and armed attacks against security members, paramilitary troops and civilians since the Iraqi government launched a wide-scale campaign to retake Islamic State-occupied areas in 2016.

Iraq declared the collapse of Islamic State’s territorial influence in Iraq earlier this month with the recapture of Rawa, a city on Anbar’s western borders with Syria, which was the group’s last bastion in Iraq.