I.S. COMEBACK IN IRAQ?

Security officials say poor coordination, meagre support from govt hindering efforts to contain IS

MONTHS after Iraq declared victory over Islamic State, its fighters are making a comeback with a scatter-gun campaign of kidnap and killing.

With its dream of a caliphate in the Middle East now dead, IS has switched to hit-and-run attacks to undermine the government in Baghdad, said military, intelligence and government officials.

IS was reinventing itself months before Baghdad announced in December that it had defeated the group, according to intelligence officials who said it would adopt guerrilla tactics when it could no longer hold territory.

Iraq has now seen an increase in kidnappings and killings, mainly in the provinces of Kirkuk, Diyala and Salahuddin, since it held an election in May, indicating the government will come under renewed pressure from a group that once occupied a third of the country during a threeyear reign of terror.

Last month saw at least 83 cases of kidnap, murder or both in the three provinces. Most occurred on a highway connecting Baghdad to Kirkuk province. In May, the number of such incidents in that area was 30, while in March it was seven, said Hisham al-Hashimi, an expert on IS who advises the Iraqi government.

In an incident on June 17, three Shia men were kidnapped by IS militants disguised as police at a highway checkpoint. Ten days later, their mutilated corpses were discovered, rigged with explosives to kill anyone who found them.

Diyala Provincial Council chairman Ali al-Dani said the advantage currently laid with IS.

“Terrorists are moving in small groups that are hard to track. Intelligence work is needed.”

Salahuddin Provincial Council chairman Ahmed al-Kareem said: “The situation is confusing, and the reason is the chaos within the security forces. There isn’t one command leading security in the province. This strengthens IS.”

Disarray among security forces has allowed IS to stage a comeback, said military, police, intelligence and local elected officials.

They said poor coordination, meagre support from the central government and a culture of avoiding responsibility were hindering efforts to contain the group, which continued to stage lower-level attacks in addition to the spike in kidnap and murder.

A military spokesman did not respond to requests for comment.

The United States-led coalition fighting IS said it “has no safe haven in Iraq”.

Military and intelligence officials gave varying estimates of how many IS fighters remain active in Iraq. Al-Hashimi puts the number at more than 1,000, with about 500 in desert areas and the rest in the mountains.