Iraq, military operation targets local ISIS cell

On Wednesday 19 March, military personnel from the Iraqi Army’s 88th Brigade and the Military Intelligence Directorate within the Eastern Salahaddin Operations Command set up an ambush in the Palkana area, Tuz district, Salahaddin province, some 175km north of Baghdad. The military operation targeted an ISIS cell consisting of four fighters. One of them was wearing an explosive vest which he detonated, resulting in his death. A second militant was killed in the ensuing clash and the others were injured. No injuries or casualties were reported among Iraqi military personnel. The operation saw heavy use of technical and intelligence resources, including drones and thermal imaging cameras. An informed security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, noted that the suicide bomber was the group’s commander in Salahaddin province and that an unspecified number of militants fled to Mount Palakan.