Talib al-Mousawi, commander of Hashd al-Shaabi’s operation in Diyala, said the popular forces on Wednesday managed to find and defuse six bombs that the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group had prepared to attack the Eid al-Fitr ceremonies in the governorate.
Highlighting the efforts to ensure security in the Eid ceremonies, the commander said the hostile plots were thwarted in an “ambush operation”, Iraqi media said.
In another operation in Al Anbar Governorate west of the country, the Iraqi Air Force, backed by voluntary tribal forces, killed a commander of Daesh and six other members of the notorious group.
The popular forces have been supporting the Baghdad government in the fight against Daesh since the Takfiri group swept across Iraq in 2014.
The Hashd al-Shaabi forces played a key role in checking the advance of Daesh on Baghdad and the holy cities of Samarra and Karbala in the summer of 2014 and later helped liberate Daesh-held areas to the south, northeast and north of Baghdad.
In November 2016, Iraq’s parliament voted to accord full legal status to Hashd al-Shaabi as a back-up and reserve force for the military and police and empower them to deter security and terror threats.