IRAQ TODAY KURDISH-LED
IRAQ TODAY KURDISH-LED SYRIAN DEMOCRATIC FORCES / AP This photo provided by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces shows fighters from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces gathered around a body of an Islamic State group gunman who was killed after they attacked Gweiran Prison, in Hassakeh, northeast Syria, Friday, Jan. 21, 2022. Kurdish fighters defend against Islamic State attack BAGHDAD (AP) — The Islamic State group unleashed its biggest attack in Syria since the fall of its “caliphate” three years ago. More than 100 militants assaulted the main prison holding suspected extremists, sparking a battle with U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters that continued 24 hours later and left dozens dead on Friday. Across the border in Iraq, gunmen stormed an army barracks north of Baghdad before dawn Friday while soldiers inside slept, killing 11 before escaping — the deadliest attack in months on Iraq’s military. The bold assaults suggest militants have been revitalized after maintaining a low- level insurgency in Iraq and Syria over the past few years. The group’s territorial control in Iraq and Syria was crushed by a years-long U.S.-backed campaign, but its fighters continued with sleeper cells that have increasingly killed scores of Iraqis and Syrians in past months. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack on its Aamaq news service Friday, saying it aimed to free prisoners and describing it as ongoing. Attempted prison breaks have been a main tactic of the group. During their 2014 surge in which they overwhelmed territory in Iraq and Syria, they carried out multiple prison breaks. Friday’s attack in Iraq was a brazen strike on a barracks in the mountainous al-Azim district outside the town of Baqouba. Two security officials told The Associated Press that IS militants broke into the barracks at 3 a.m. after killing a guard, shot dead the soldiers and successfully fled. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they weren’t authorized to issue official statements. The Iraqi military said in a statement that a lieutenant and 10 soldiers were killed. The officials said reinforcements and security forces deployed in the area. Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al- Kadhimi vowed the attack on the barracks “will not go without decisive punishment,” saying the Iraqi military had to duty “to prevent the repeat of these violations and to hunt down the terrorists.” IS was largely defeated in Iraq in 2017, but its militants have continued to wage attacks, frequently hitting security forces and military with roadside bombs and firing on military convoys or checkpoints. They have at times also attacked civilians. In October, IS militants armed with machine guns raided a predominantly Shiite village in Iraq’s Diyala province, killing 11 civilians and wounding several others. Officials at the time said the attack occurred after the militants had kidnapped villagers and their demands for ransom were not met. The Islamic State group’s selfstyled caliphate at its height covered a third of both of Iraq and Syria. The ensuing war against them lasted several years, killed thousands, and left large parts of the two neighboring countries in ruins. It also left U.S.-allied Kurdish authorities in control of eastern and northeastern Syria, with a small presence of several hundred American forces still deployed there. El Deeb reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Lolita C. Baldor in Washington contributed to this report. 12 CHALDEAN NEWS FEBRUARY 2022
FEBRUARY 2022 CHALDEAN NEWS 13
