Popular Mobilization Units launched the second phase of their military operation liberate Beaj district of Mousl and the villages surrounding it in the framework of the current operations to liberate Iraq’s second largest city. According to Iraqi leader of Federal Police Shaker Jawdat, ISIS extremist group lost over 80 percent of its fighters during the recent military operations.
Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi ordered the military command in Baghdad to take the necessary measures to keep the security and stability in the Iraqi capital and to protect the lives of people. The statement came during his visit to Baghdad Operations Command Headquarters to discuss the security plans after the recent blasts witnessed in the city during the recent days.
On the military side, Iraqi paramilitary forces fighting the Islamic State alongside the government have begun digging trenches along the borders with Syria, crowning a successful push through villages near that area.
Popular Mobilization Units said on their website Tuesday they had begun entrenching along a line extending from Um Greis village, west of Sinjar region, to villages adjacent to the borderline. The step came one day after the force reached the borderline, taking over dozens of villages on their way.
The statement added that a second phase of operations launched to take over remaining villages north of Baaj, a major Islamic State holdout. Last week, al-Hashd al-Shaabi troops resumed the second phase of operations, launched earlier this month, to liberate the remaining villages in the vicinity of  Baaj, after the troops announced full liberation of Qairawan.
Many villages in Qairawan region, a main Islamic State bastion which links between Tal Afar town and the Syrian borders, have been freed since the troops launched an offensive on May 12 to free the region.
The campaign in Baaj runs simultaneously with government troops operations in Mosul, Islamic State’s biggest stronghold in Iraq. As battles in Mosul approach victory, according to Iraqi generals, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said protecting the borders with Syria became a high priority.
Some senior PMU leaders had confirmed coordination with Syrian forces regarding security at the border area. PMUs, an alliance of more than 60 mostly Shia militias, are recognized by the government as a national force under the Prime Minister’s command.
Seven people were killed and six others were wounded in two separate gun and bomb attacks in Diyala, DPA reported Tuesday. Islamic State members attacked a checkpoint in Qarra Tabba, north of Baqubah, killing four members of the Popular Mobilization Units and wounding two others, the agency said, quoting Iraqi security sources.
In a separate incident, a bomb exploded near a mosque in Tawakkol village, Maqdadiah, northeast of Baqubah. The explosion killed three of the congregation on their way out of the mosque and wounded four others.
Violence and armed conflicts claimed the lives of 317 Iraqis and caused injuries to 403 others during the month of April, according to a monthly United Nations count. Islamic State, almost losing its main holdout in Mosul to a security operation running since October, has been escalating attacks at other provinces where it still has a presence.
Government and tribal forces have launched occasional operations over the past few months to clear border regions between Diyala and Salahuddin, killing dozens of militants. IS fighters have also responded with occasional attacks targeting troops, leaving several deaths.
Officials from towns still held by IS since 2014 have pressed the Iraqi government to hasten with security operations to retake those regions, but the Iraqi government is giving most attention to its battle in Mosul, Islamic State’s largest stronghold in Iraq.