ISIS Attacks Military Base In Diyala, 11 Iraqi Soldiers Killed

Illustration of an Iraqi military convoy. (Wikimedia Commons/Mstyslav Chernov)

JAKARTA - The Islamic State militant group killed 11 Iraqi soldiers in an early-morning raid on a military base in the eastern province of Diyala, the state news agency said on Friday.

The attack was one of the deadliest by an extremist group against Iraqi security forces in recent months.

Following the incident, the Army's Diyala Operations Command sent reinforcements to headquarters in Hawi Al Azim district and opened an investigation.

"The attack was carried out against members of the First Division in the Al Azim area which lies on the border between Diyala and Salaheddin," Diyala Governor Muthanna Al Tamimi said in a statement, citing The National News Jan. 21.

Al Tamimi further said the army was not prepared for the attack.

"The main reason (for this attack) was negligence on the part of the army because the base was fortified. There were thermal cameras, night vision goggles and a concrete watchtower," he explained.

Iraqi President Barham Salih said the latest attack in Diyala targeted national security and efforts to revive terrorism were not to be taken lightly.

"Our job is to form a capable government that protects national security and serves the people," Salih wrote on Twitter.

Iraq declared victory over ISIS in late 2017, after recapturing areas of the north and west captured by the extremist group in 2014.

But remnants of the group have waged a low-level ISIS insurgency, particularly in the north, which has undermined efforts to restore stability to Iraq after years of war and sectarian unrest.

Iraq currently faces a political vacuum as parliamentary groups try to agree on the formation of a new government after general elections in October.

Frequent attacks along the border between Diyala and Salaheddin have been blamed for the lack of security coordination between the two provinces.

Last October, Islamic State militants stormed a predominantly Shiite village in Diyala province, killing 11 civilians and wounding several others. Officials said the attack came after insurgents kidnapped villagers and their ransom demands were not met.

The previous month, ISIS fighters killed 10 police officers and injured four in an attack on a checkpoint near the northern city of Kirkuk. Police sources said the assailants clashed for two hours with police stationed in a village in the town of Rashad, 30 kilometers southwest of Kirkuk.

In July, ISIS claimed the bombing of a market in the city of Sadr, a Shiite suburb of the capital Baghdad, that killed dozens of people.

For your information, last year's UN report estimated that about 10,000 ISIS fighters remain active in Iraq and across the border in Syria.