Flurry of Sunni Triangle ops sparks questions over Islamic State
Several large military operations conducted in Sunni-majority areas of Iraq in recent weeks and mass killings have raised questions over whether a much-debated IS resurgence is actually in the making or whether the roots of the problem lie elsewhere.
ERBIL, Iraqi Kurdistan — Mass killings, including ones in which attackers wore military attire, and counterterrorism operations on a near-daily basis have revived concerns about an oft-prophesized Islamic State (IS) "resurgence" in areas northwest of Baghdad.
While many analysts say low-level insurgency may continue for quite some time without this leading to any territorial control by the nonstate actors, locals contacted by Al-Monitor put the blame for the latest attacks on armed forces deployed there.
International coalition spokesman Col. Wayne Marotto told Al-Monitor March 14, “[IS] is territorially defeated. It continues to pursue an insurgency with hit-and-run tactics, murder, assassinating and intimidating local leaders. Despite a recent uptick in simple low-level attacks [the coalition] has not observed any indication of a resurgence.”
The previous day he had tweeted an article quoting a peshmerga officer as saying March 11, “The US-led coalition to defeat the Islamic State had carried out over two dozen airstrikes against the group over the previous day.”
