By NNN-KUNA,
Baghdad : Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iraqi Army Lt-Col Naseir Al-Ebadi has said that his forces will launch a new military operation against insurgents in the Al-Shu’la district, north Baghdad.
“The Iraqi forces are poised to launch a fresh operation against the hotbed of insurgents and law violators in Al-Shu’la,” Al-Ebadi told reporters here Wednesday.
The restive area has recently seen sporadic fighting between the government forces and militiamen of the outlawed Al-Mahdi Army in synchronization with the battles between the two sides in the southern cities of Basra and Al-Sadr.
“The Iraqi military has launched in Al-Shu’la limited crackdowns which fell short of a full-scale operation due to insufficiency of forces,” Al-Ebadi explained.
“Many forces were deployed in Basra, Al-Sadr, Mosul cities and elsewhere, but some of them were summoned to back up the forces in Al-Shu’la,” the military commander pointed out.
However, he did not disclose the specific time of the operation, saying it would start after the end of the operations in Basra, Al-Sadr and Mosul cities. “The ongoing operations are part of the second stage of Iraqi forces plan to control the lawless areas and restore full security and stability there,” he noted.
The US forces announced on Tuesday that they had arrested a leader of a militant group of 300 members who are linked to the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).