Attack blamed on Daesh kills two Hashd fighters in Iraq

Two pro-Iranian fighters from the Hashd Al-Shaabi alliance were killed in an attack in Iraq, the Hashd and an Iraqi security source said on Sunday, blaming Daesh.

The two fighters “succumbed after having been wounded while they were confronting an attack” by Daesh in Salaheddin province north of Baghdad, the Hashd said in a statement reported by the INA news agency.

A security source confirmed the death toll and said that Daesh attacked a Hashd “(military) post on Saturday night” in the area of Al-Zarka in the province’s north.

The Hashd Al-Shaabi is a coalition of mainly pro-Iranian former paramilitary units, now integrated into the Iraqi armed forces, whose fighters have been heavily involved in the fight against Daesh.

Hours after the attack, the government’s media unit for security affairs said the army had bombarded Daesh “hideouts” in adjacent Diyala province, killing five Daesh fighters.

Daesh seized swaths of Iraq and Syria in 2014, declaring a “caliphate” which they ruled with brutality before their defeat in late 2017 by Iraqi forces backed by a US-led military coalition.

However, Daesh cells still stage sporadic attacks on the army and police, especially in rural and remote areas.

A UN report published in July said Daesh has “between 5,000 and 7,000 members across Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic, most of whom are fighters.”

The US has around 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria as part of the multinational coalition set up at the height of Daesh’s territorial gains.

Other partners include France, Spain and the UK.