The Washington Post: ISIS is using Corona to step up attacks in Iraq

The Islamic State in Iraq is taking advantage of government measures to ban and close, fearing the outbreak of the Corna virus, to multiply its attacks, as last week it witnessed several attacks that included many areas in the north, west and east.

A report published by the "Washington Post" newspaper showed that although the Islamic State has become weaker than it was and does not appear to be able to rise again and regain its influence, it is taking advantage of the current situation to launch its attacks, given the shrinking number of Iraqi security forces in rural areas following the dispatch of security reinforcements To urban centers to ensure closure due to the health embargo.

"The Corona virus is an important factor. Given that some of the soldiers are out of active duty and some of our operations have been stopped against the organization, they are taking advantage of the situation to launch their attacks," said Iraqi Armed Forces spokesman Major General Tahsin al-Khafaji.

The militants carried out an ambush on Saturday evening at the site of the Federal Police Unit, which was usually stationed nearby, but instead it was stationed elsewhere to impose the closure. The attack, which targeted a checkpoint in the village of Makchifa, in Salah al-Din Governorate (north of Baghdad), resulted in the killing and wounding of dozens among the tribal crowd. 

The crowd said that they did not have night vision goggles and were surprised by the attack by the ISIS fighters.

The report indicated that this attack is considered the most sophisticated of the organization in years, which launched several attacks that resulted in many of the wounded. For their part, US officials said that the latest escalation in violence by the organization was a response to operations by Iraqi forces against it.

Al-Khafaji said that the Corona virus caused a brief period of time to decline operations against the organization, although things have changed since then. 

An American withdrawal and
the group’s recent attacks come at a time when the US-led international coalition is seeking to withdraw its forces from Iraq. It is noteworthy that the coalition last month closed its facilities inside bases in Kirkuk in the north of the country and located in the west and Qayyarah quarry in the north.

Experts said that the organization is also taking advantage of the vacuum left by the Iraqi security forces due to the health embargo, the differences between the central government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government and the absence of coordination between them, which led to the creation of opportunities for militants in the disputed areas - especially Kirkuk - even before the emergence of the Corona virus .

Since March 15, Iraq has been subject to strict restrictions, as silence prevailed in the streets and the branch roads were nearly empty. Accordingly, ISIS has begun to embrace more attacks.

For her part, the researcher on the activities of the Islamic State, Mara Rifkin, from the Center for National Security and Law at Georgetown University, described the recent attacks as the most important and costly since the official defeat of the organization in 2017.

"However, the scale and complexity of the attacks have not yet reached the level that we saw in 2014, before ISIS began seizing land in Iraq," she said.

The report pointed out that the fighters are now hiding in small groups, as they take refuge from rugged rural terrain that does not fall under the authority of the government.

Iraqi officials say they finance themselves by blackmail and by appealing to local sympathizers. Although attacks are increasingly common, they are usually small in scope. They may drop a makeshift bomb one day and shoot security forces in the desert another day.

Experts also say that the difference in recent weeks is that ISIS fighters have often carried out attacks closer to the cities.

For his part, security expert Hisham Al-Hashimi expected more attacks to come, especially in Kirkuk and the areas where there is a security gap that can be exploited.

On the other hand, residents in the eastern Diyala governorate said that the news of the Machishafa attack (in Salah al-Din Governorate) was disturbing. "We are tense," said a Baquba resident. "There are many fighters in the mountains, and we know they can move very easily."

He added, "We are concerned that ISIS will take advantage of the spread of Corona and increase its attacks in the city. If they come, they will make sure to take a lot of lives."

False promises

While the militants pose a permanent threat, officials and security experts stress that the environment has changed a lot from the one that facilitated the emergence of ISIS in 2014. 

"At the time, the organization did not create its state," he said. "His promises and propaganda were credible to some, and it eventually became apparent that these promises were false, and the organization could not annul its past failures and the severe violence that turned civilians against it."