Iraq brings all remaining IS territory under attack
Iraq brought all of its territory still held by the Islamic State group under attack yesterday, throwing the jihadists on the defensive across their self-proclaimed "caliphate" extending into neighbouring Syria.
Security forces backed by paramilitary units launched a dawn assault on a besieged IS-held pocket around the northern town of Hawija, just days after attacking the jihadists' only other foothold in the country.
The territory still held by IS has been dwindling fast since its defeat in Iraq's second city Mosul in July, with stronghold after stronghold coming under assault on both sides of the border with Syria.
Most of its onetime Syria bastion Raqa, long a byword for its most gruesome atrocities, is now in the hands of US-backed fighters, while elsewhere in Syria IS has suffered major losses to Russian-backed government forces.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi predicted that the assault on the Hawija region would swiftly bring a new victory against the crumbling jihadists.
The mainly Sunni Arab enclave, which was bypassed by government forces in their advance north to Mosul last year, has been a bastion of insurgency ever since the first year of the US-led occupation in 2003.
After the defeat of IS in Mosul and the recapture of adjacent areas, Hawija and neighbouring towns form the last enclave still held by IS in Iraq apart from a section of the Euphrates Valley downstream from the border with Syria.
Meanwhile, the UN Security Council yesterday unanimously decided to set up an investigation team to collect evidence on the massacres of Iraq's Yazidi minority and other atrocities committed by the Islamic State group in Iraq. Britain presented the resolution to help bring perpetrators of IS war crimes to justice.
After months of pressure, Iraq in August agreed to the investigation which will "support domestic efforts to hold" IS jihadists accountable by "collecting, preserving and storing evidence" in Iraq, the resolution said.
Comments