Status: 08/18/2021 4:53 a.m.
After the Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan, many Iraqis fear a similar scenario for their country – a resurgence of the terrorist militia IS. The US wants to end the combat mission and IS continues to terrorize Iraq.
The scenes are harrowing. There is panic and horror in the Wahailat market in Baghdad. People scream, some are covered in blood. Families want to buy groceries there for the festival of sacrifice on July 20, when a suicide bomber detonates his explosives belt.
More than 30 visitors are killed, most of the victims are women and children. The terrorist militia IS (“Islamic State”) is committed to the attack.
It is the third with a high death rate this year. The IS fighters are spreading fear and terror in Iraq, fueling sectarian conflicts and trying to regain power in the chaos.
They hide in the vastness of the desert, in tunnels, abandoned buildings, in some villages they are said to have risen to become the secret rulers again. From ambush they attack army positions, destroy electricity pylons and want to hit the infrastructure.
IS strikes again and again, especially in busy places: In Baghdad it last hit the market.
Image: AFP
Little success against IS sleeper cells
Special forces of the Iraqi army are trying to track down and locate them in risky operations, most recently on Saturday in northern Baghdad. These units were trained by the USA and the German Armed Forces to be equipped with modern weapons.
But there seems to be no match for the guerrilla tactics of the self-proclaimed warriors of God. They are highly motivated, have considerable financial resources, and are apparently very popular. “These sleeper cells keep coming to light,” says Professor Mohamed Harabi from the University of Baghdad.
The political scientist heard from government sources that a number of IS fighters had already been arrested. But the situation is far from under control. “The government must be wide awake!” He demands.
Memories are awakened
The Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan is now causing renewed unrest in the crisis-ridden country. The parallels are obvious. In mid-2014, IS units overran Mosul and the demoralized Iraqi army fled. The terrorist militia took large parts of Syria and Iraq by storm, established a caliphate and terrorized the population for years.
With the deployment of the anti-IS coalition under the leadership of the USA, the “Islamic State” was pushed back. In April 2019, the last IS stronghold fell in Baghus, Syria.
Since then, the terrorist organization has restructured itself, networked with modern means of communication, and is feeling the upswing, as reported by the secret services. Almost at the same time, the US also withdrew from Iraq.
“Of course the IS is happy”
Under US President Donald Trump, the troop strength was halved to 2,500 men. At the end of July, US President Biden announced that he would end the combat mission completely at the end of the year.
Now there is fear in Iraq that ISIS might again enter the vacuum and seize power in the country. “I believe that the Afghanistan scenario will also happen in Iraq,” says Gomaa al-Qureshy from Baghdad. “We face the same fate.”
Abdel Nasser Abed is also alarmed: “Of course IS is happy about what is happening in Afghanistan, it is the same force, only the names are different: IS, Al Qaeda, Taliban.”
“We cannot defend ourselves”
In fact, the predecessor organization of IS joined Al Qaeda in 2004. The relationship between the leading figures was tense from the start, ideological rifts quickly opened up, and in 2014 it broke. Both organizations are still in agreement on the goal of driving the USA out of the region and have never been so close to it.
Political scientist Mohamad Harabi warns against a hasty withdrawal of US troops like in Afghanistan: “If we are attacked by terrorist groups, we cannot defend ourselves. Our fighters cannot keep up, they are not adequately trained.”
Dark prospects
The resurgence of the terrorist militia in Iraq would be a nightmare for millions of Iraqis after the suffering of the past few years. “You are not wanted,” says Harabi. “We’ve been through so much with extremists here.”
In addition, the economy would collapse, many projects would come to a standstill, and a new movement of refugees would emerge, he says. “Then why should anyone stay here?”