Four Iraqi soldiers killed in raid foiling Daesh plots to target pilgrims north of Baghdad

Four Iraqi army soldiers have been killed in a counter-terrorism operation north of the capital Baghdad, which thwarted plots by Daesh terrorists to target pilgrims during the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Musa al-Kazim (PBUH), the great grandson of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and the seventh Shia Imam.

Iraqi media reports said the fatalities took place on Thursday in Tarmiya, about 25 kilometers north of Baghdad, where remnants of the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group are active, as hundreds of thousands of pilgrims descended on the Kadhimiya district to commemorate the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Musa al-Kazim.

The Iraqi government's security media cell said in a statement that an army unit launched a "raid on a hideout of Daesh terrorists," adding that "three terrorists were killed, one of whom was wearing an explosive belt.”

"Two officers and two soldiers" were also killed when the device was detonated, the statement said.

Lieutenant General Ahmed Salim, the commander of security forces in Baghdad, was quoted by Iraqi News Agency as saying that the raid had foiled a terrorist plan to target the pilgrims of the seventh Shia Imam.

Daesh began a terror campaign in Iraq in 2014, overrunning vast swathes in lightning attacks.

Iraq declared victory over the terrorist group in December 2017 after a three-year counter-terrorism military campaign, in which the PMU, known in Arabic as Hashd al-Sha’abi, also played a major role.

However, Daesh’s remnants keep staging sporadic attacks across Iraq, attempting to regroup and unleash fresh violence in the Arab country.

MG