Strategic Plan Prepared to Protect Iraq’s Diyala Province
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A senior official in Diyala Governorate said a strategic plan has been prepared to protect the region against possible devastating attacks by the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
“Security forces are fully aware in all parts of the governorate and no infiltration has been observed by the ISIL forces so far,“ said the head of Diyala's local council Mathni al-Tamimi.
Al-Tamimi asked the Iraqis to defend their lands against the Takfiri (extremist) terrorists, adding that the new strategic plan will protect Diyala through four different directions, local media reports said Wednesday.
Reports say hundreds of volunteer forces join the armed forces on a daily scale to help eradicate the terrorist group. They receive necessary training, and are equipped with military uniform, weapons, and ammunition.
In the latest development in the region, brigades of the volunteer forces together with Iraqi army have managed to completely clear al-Azim area in the north of Diyala from terrorists. As many as 15 ISIL terrorists have been killed in joint operation of the local police and the volunteers in Amarly region.
Tens of thousands of volunteer forces have taken up arms to fight against the ISIL following the senior Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani’s fatwa.
Grand Ayatollah Sistani, who rarely appears in public, is highly influential in the Shiite Muslim world and is adored by millions. Around 1.5 million Iraqi volunteers from all ages including retired army officers have volunteered to join battles against the militants of the al-Qaeda-linked ISIL.
In early June, following its large-scale offensives in Iraq, ISIL seized control of most parts of Mosul, the second most populous city in Iraq, its surrounding Nineveh province. ISIL militants have been in control of Fallujah city since December.
The terrorists’ attacks have reportedly forced more than half a million people in and around Mosul, the capital of Nineveh Province, to flee their homes. The Takfiri (extremist) militants are said to have entered Iraq from neighboring Syria and Saudi Arabia to destabilize the Arab country.
