Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – ISIS claimed responsibility on Tuesday for an attack targeting Iraqi police forces southwest of the city of Kirkuk, which killed one police officer and injured others.
The attack is the first against Iraqi security forces since the withdrawal of the US-led international coalition from Iraq on September 30, ending the US military mission in the country.
The United States had led an international coalition to support Iraqi forces in their war against the terrorist group, including efforts to prevent the militant organization from regrouping.
Washington announced that it would continue to provide limited training and intelligence support following the withdrawal, with Iraqi forces assuming full responsibility for the country’s security and the suppression of the terrorist group’s remnants.
Prior to the pullout, Iraqi security officials cautioned that the group still has sleeper cells across Iraq, despite its defeat and the collapse of its rule in 2017.
The U.S. withdrawal raised concerns about a potential security vacuum that could give ISIS an opportunity to regain its strength, as some officials warned that Iraqi forces would now be compelled to contain the organization without foreign military presence.
In 2014, the terrorist group ISIS took control of large areas in Iraq and Syria before being defeated in 2017.
Over five million Iraqis had to flee the governorates of Nineveh, Salah al-Din, parts of Kirkuk, Diyala, and Anbar because of ISIS control over these areas in 2014.
Although Iraq declared in late 2017 that all of its regions were free of ISIS, the government continues to conduct security operations to hunt out any remaining members of the terrorist group.
