The escalation of ISIS attacks in Iraq this week raises many warnings and concerns regarding the return of the activities of the extremist organization, which has lost a significant part of its power over the past few years, but still possesses significant cells capable of harming civilians and military personnel alike.
On Monday, the Salah al-Din governorate, north of Baghdad, witnessed what was described as the biggest attack in a year after ISIS militants attacked a military barracks in the Mutaybiya area, killing a senior officer at the rank of lieutenant colonel and several other soldiers.
The security and strategic expert, Mukhalid Hazem, says, "What happened in Mutaybiya is considered, according to army custom, a major security breach because it caused the death of a brigade commander at the rank of lieutenant colonel, who is a specific target."
An expert on radical groups, Abu Haniyeh, explains that the organization takes advantage of the "tensions that occurred as a result of the conflict in Gaza and the attacks on American bases in Iraq by Iranian militias, which affected the coordination between the international coalition forces and the Iraqi forces."