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IS Militants Kill 10 Iraqi Militiamen in Most Lethal Attack in Months

Edward Yeranian

   CAIRO - Ten Iraqi Shi'ite "Hushd" militiamen were killed early Saturday
   in an Islamic State (IS) attack on their positions in Salahuddin
   province. The attack comes as the country's prime minister-designate
   prepares to present his new government to parliament this coming week.
   Hushd militiamen traded gunfire with IS attackers overnight in
   Salahuddin province, when the 10 dead militiamen were killed and a
   number of them wounded, according to a statement by the Iraqi
   government. It was the first major IS attack on Hushd militiamen or
   government forces in a number of months.
   Prime Minister-designate Mustapha al Kadhimi said in a statement
   Saturday the IS attack was "a desperate attempt [by IS] to exploit the
   country's political disagreements," as he prepares to assemble his new
   government this coming week. He indicated the best response would be to
   "approve his new government quickly."
   The spokesman for Iraq's joint military operations command, Gen. Tahsin
   Khafaji, told Arab media the country's military forces have launched a
   number of air and ground attacks on IS positions in several parts of
   the country and will launch further attacks in the future.
   He said terrorist fighters are under serious pressure from government
   forces in many places, including Salahuddin, Diyala and Samarra, and IS
   terrorists have been reduced to hideouts in mostly unpopulated areas.
   A Hushd militia spokesman, Mushtaq al Hassani, told Iraqi state TV that
   his forces were "prepared to make sacrifices" to destroy the IS
   militants, adding that expected "more attacks to be launched in the
   near future to go after IS sleeper cells."
   Iraqi military analyst Fadel Abou Ragheef said on Iraqi TV that
   government forces "have launched more than 90 pre-emptive attacks on IS
   terrorists during the past several months," and that they have
   "destroyed at least 35 terrorist cells."
   The U.S. declared the group's alleged new leader, Amir Mohammed Sa'id
   Abdal Rahman al Mawla, as a "specially designated global terrorist" in
   March.
   U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo proposed last month that Washington
   and Baghdad "hold a Strategic Dialogue in June" to discuss the presence
   of U.S. forces in Iraq. The U.S. and U.S.-coalition forces have
   withdrawn from a number of strategic bases since March due to the
   coronavirus outbreak.

   Last week, IS claimed responsibility for a suicide attack that wounded
   four people outside an intelligence office in the northern Iraqi
   province of Kirkuk.
   Iraq declared victory over IS in late 2017 after a three-year military
   campaign, supported by U.S.-led coalition forces.
   IS once controlled about one-third of Iraq and large swaths of
   neighboring Syria. Saturday's attack is raising concerns it could be
   making a comeback as authorities try to address a political and
   economic crisis, as well as contain the spread of the coronavirus.