ISIS fighters have carried out 13 ambushes against the Iraqi Army and the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) in the provinces of al-Anbar, Kirkuk, Diyala and around the Iraqi capital, Baghdad over the last two weeks, according to an infographic released by the ISIS-linked newspaper al-Nab’a on March 29.
Al-Nab’a claimed that 97 Iraqi fighters, including 7 commanders and officers, were killed and 13 others were captured by ISIS. ISIS fighters also destroyed 9 vehicles of the Iraqi Army and PMU and captured 7 others, according to al-Nab’a.
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ISIS cells implement a variety of tactics to ambush the Iraqi Army and the PMU, including targeting their vehicles with IEDs or even setting fake checkpoints on key roads to kidnap or assassinate army soldiers and officers.
Facing such a serious threat, the Iraqi Army, the PMU and security forces have launched a series of security operations against ISIS cells in northern and western Iraq since the beginning of March. However, local experts believe that a lack of cooperation between government forces and locals has limited the efficiency of these operations.