Despite the authorities ’confrontation, the Islamic State is still attractive in Iraqi Kurdistan

Salah Hassan Baban - Sulaymaniyah

Despite the success of the security services in Iraqi Kurdistan in confronting armed groups and networks operating in areas near the region, and failing many plans, this did not prevent many citizens in the region from joining the ranks of the so-called "Islamic State" in recent years.

Among the most prominent Kurds who announced their joining the organization at the beginning of its appearance in 2014 is the Kurdish cleric Mulla Shwan, known in the ranks of the organization as "Abu Haroun" who was an imam and orator of a mosque in Erbil (the center of the region), and responsible for carrying out killings against the Peshmerga (forces Defense in the region), but he was killed by violent clashes between the organization and the Peshmerga in Kirkuk (north of Baghdad).

And the Kurdish cleric (Mulla Ismail Susei) is considered one of the most prominent Kurdish citizens who was arrested in Erbil in 2018 because of his links to the state organization, after the regional authorities prevented him from giving religious speeches in the mosques in 2010 because of his extremist ideas and opinions, but he started spreading his ideas through sites Social Media.

Dozens of Kurds arrested
The Asayish (Kurdistan Internal Security Forces) arrested 46 Kurds on charges of belonging to and promoting the Islamic State in Sulaimaniya in 2019, and that was preceded by the arrest of dozens in previous years. This is considered by some as a booming organization for a small group of Kurdish citizens, especially young people.

Asayish arrested 331 people in Sulaimaniyah in 2019, on charges of belonging to the Islamic State, including 280 men and 51 women, according to a security source.

Ali Abboud is considered one of the most prominent leaders of the organization who was arrested in Sulaimaniyah, and he is a resident of Al-Anbar Governorate (western Iraq), after coming from the Syrian border and carrying out many operations, as indicated by the security source.

The Asayish dismantled three ISIS cells in Sulaimaniya during the reorganization of themselves in 2019, and the most prominent detainees were Shuaib Zaid, nicknamed “Abu Ayman” of the “Abu Al-Abash” battalion, in what it called “Diyala Province”, Mustafa Khalifa Abdullah Al-Halbousi, and Omar Younis Al-Turki, known as “Abi Abed,” Omar Kamel Al-Turki, nicknamed “Abi Farouk,” Ali Younis Al-Turki, “Abi Bilal,” and Ahmed Khamis Shuja’a, who worked in the news department of the Islamic State, and was assigned to collect information on the Peshmerga, as well as the Asayish in Erbil and Sulaimaniya.

A whole network of women signed in Sulaimaniyah was promoting the idea of ​​organization through social media, and they are seeking to establish a joint media room to spread news and activities of the state in the region, and prepare to support the sleeping cells of the organization in a timely manner.

Power failure
The failure of the authority to secure a suitable life for the youth and the general public comes from the main reasons for pushing the Kurdish youth to join the ranks of the extremist groups, and cultivating the spirit of "not belonging" to this land, according to Kurdistan Parliament Member Sirwan Baban, who said that "the collapse of the Kurdish youth came after his persecution And its psychological, intellectual and physical destruction by the authority. "

The MP affirms the failure of religious and social institutions in carrying out their duty and not allowing young people to be involved in these groups, as they have served the authority more than the youth and have moved away from the real issue and have become far from their aspirations.

1550 detainees
The Al-Zarka prison in Dohuk Governorate (North) includes more than 1550 detainees who are convicted of various rulings, most notably criminal and terrorist, but more than 90% of them are accused of belonging to the state organization and promoting it, including Kurdish citizens.

An informed security source says that Al-Zarka includes prominent leaders of the Islamic State who were arrested by Kurdish security forces in different areas.

The elements of the organization took advantage of the security vacuum that occurred between Baghdad and the region after the last secession referendum in 2017 and moved to areas in the region with false identities while changing their evidence.

After the improvement of relations between the two parties, Baghdad provided detailed information on large numbers of wanted persons present in the region on charges of "terrorism", and the authorities were able to arrest several of them, especially in Sulaimaniya, with their intelligence efforts.

According to the security agreement between them, the Kurdish authorities took over the wanted government, according to the Kurdish security expert, Hawkar al-Jaf, adding that "eliminating the organization militarily is not enough to end its existence, because it works more in thought than in field work, which may qualify it to emerge again." .

According to Al-Jaf, the failure of the organization to fail to carry out operations in Sulaimaniyah during the past ten years is due to the high intelligence ability of the Asayish and the exchange of information with other agencies.

He adds that the organization has been active during the political and economic crises that the region has gone through during the past years by luring "some" youth to join its ranks, even if the number is less than other Iraqi regions.

And groups described as "extremist", such as "Ansar al-Islam and Ansar al-Sunna," took control of large areas in Sulaimaniyah, such as "Tuila and Biyara" at the beginning of this century, and were eliminated after fierce battles with Kurdish security, according to the security expert.

Support of clans
The Arab tribes in the Sunni areas have strengthened the intelligence efforts of Kurdish security by providing information on the thousands of elements who were in the ranks of the organization.

The official spokesman for the Arab tribes in the areas that are called "disputed" between Baghdad and Erbil Muzahim Al-Hawit, said that "the Arab tribes provided complete information about the elements of the state present in the region in coordination with the two parties," stressing, "The region has the names of all those wanted by the Iraqi judiciary on charges of Terrorism. "

The city of Erbil has been subjected to many terrorist operations during the past years by elements belonging to the organization, but it comes at the forefront of the four provinces of the region (Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Dohuk and Halabja) in the number of detainees in its prisons who reach "two thousand" detainees accused of terrorism and belonging to the state organization.