47 Iraqi Police Officers Killed in ISIS Suicide Attack

Militants known as the 'Islamic State' or ISIS rammed a tank filled with explosives into an Iraqi police building in Samarra, resulting in at least 47 deaths. According to a report on June 1 by the Associated Press, 63 others were injured in the suicide attack on the police base. The report indicates that this attack occurred in an area where Shia militants (supporters of the Iraqi government) are fighting against ISIS forces. Iraqi military forces had recently retaken this police base from ISIS militants and were using it as their operational headquarters in the battle against this group in Samarra, located in the western Anbar province. Anbar province and its capital, Ramadi, fell to ISIS two weeks ago. Shortly thereafter, ISIS also captured the city of Palmyra in Syria. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi stated that lost territories would be retaken in swift operations. Shia militants supporting the Iraqi government were advancing in this operation and announced that to combat ISIS, the remaining bases of these forces in Salah al-Din province must be cleared. Meanwhile, the French Foreign Minister stated that without political consensus and cooperation in Iraq, military operations alone would not be effective. According to the Associated Press, Laurent Fabius said at a conference in Germany addressing the challenge of the 'Islamic State': 'As long as the people of Iraq do not feel that the sovereignty of Iraq is a comprehensive government, they will not cooperate in combating extremists.' The Iraqi government has faced criticism from the US and France for not including Iraqi Sunni Muslims in governance. Fabius also stated that France would not send military forces to Iraq, emphasizing that it is the Iraqi army that must conduct this battle.