Latest Updates on Iraq, 17 January 2021

– Muqtada al-Sadr condemned the events in Nasiriyah and called for the arrest of the aggressors and saboteurs and their separation from the ranks of peaceful demonstrators.

– Mohammad Khalil, Governor of Sinjar: So far, we have not witnessed a real retreat of PKK from Sinjar. Any statement by the Iraqi central government or any other institution about PKK leaving Sinjar is completely untrue and far from the truth.
Three months ago, the Kadhimi government and the Kurdistan Democratic Party, led by Barzani, signed an agreement on the Sinjar region to establish joint management in the region, part of which includes the withdrawal of Hashad al-Shaabi forces within 5 km of Sinjar and other armed groups.
Also in recent days, Jeanine Plasschaert, the UN special envoy to Iraq, traveled to Sinjar to follow up on the implementation of the agreement.

– An Iraqi army soldier was killed and another was wounded by an ISIS sniper in the village of al-Khawalis in Diyala province. The activities of ISIS elements in Diyala province of Iraq have become a serious security challenge for the country, and ISIS elements have been carrying out sabotage and assassination operations in this province for a long time. The re-examination of the security situation in the province and the launch of a final clearing operation appear to be one of the future necessities of the Iraqi armed forces in northeast of Baghdad.

– “The US Treasury Department decision is an insult to Iraq and the Iraqi people,” said Falih Fayyadh, head of the Popular Mobilization Forces, in a meeting with Iraqi National Security Adviser Qassim al-Araji in response to his US sanctions.
The Iraqi National Wisdom Movement, led by Seyyed Ammar Hakim, issued a statement declaring US actions to be a clear interference in Iraq’s internal affairs.
The US ambassador to Iraq has called on his country’s Treasury Department to reverse its decision to impose sanctions on Falih Fayyadh.

– Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Kadhimi met with officials and commanders of Hashad al-Shaabi after the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Falih Fayyadh and Abu Fadak.

– ISIS sniper arrested by the Iraqi Federal Police Intelligence Organization in Kirkuk province. The sniper hid among the refugees in the Leylan camp.

– Abu Ali al-Askari, Kataib Hezbollah security chief, tweeted: “Resistance advisers are ready to directly and indirectly advise and train liberation movements within the United States.” After this tweet, his page was blocked by Twitter.

– The forces of the 41st Hashad al-Shaabi Brigade thwarted an ISIS attack in the Balad Tal Zahab area of ​​Salah al-Din province.

– The Iraqi Electoral Commission has announced its readiness to hold elections next September. Some sources report that Mustafa Kadhimi met with some groups in order to postpone the elections.

– The Iraqi Media and Communications Committee in official letters asked the companies Facebook and Twitter to remove the blockade of Hashad al-Shaabi pages on these two social networks.

– After the return of all the refugees of the al-Salamiya camp in Ninawa to their areas, this camp was closed. Al-Salamiyah refugee camp is located in the al-Hamdaniyah area, southeast of Mosul.