Operation to Liberate Salahuddin Province in Iraq Begins

Haider al-Abadi, the Prime Minister of Iraq, announced the commencement of military operations by the army and Iraqi Shiite militias against the Islamic State group in Salahuddin province. Reuters reported on Sunday, March 1, that the statement from Haider al-Abadi's office says: "The Prime Minister and Commander of the Armed Forces... announces the start of security operations to liberate Salahuddin." Salahuddin is a predominantly Sunni province north of Baghdad, where many areas, including Tikrit, the birthplace of Saddam Hussein, have fallen under the control of the Islamic State group. However, the Prime Minister of Iraq emphasized in his televised message that this extremist group will soon retreat from Salahuddin province. Mr. Abadi also called for the surrender of the supporters of the Islamic State group, stating: "I command all those who have been deceived and have made mistakes in the past to lay down their arms today." He added: "This is their last chance. If they continue on their wrong path, they will face the punishment they deserve because... they have collaborated with terrorism." The report states that thousands of Iraqi army forces and Shiite militias known as Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization) are present in the operation against the Islamic State group in Salahuddin province. The Iraqi government has previously attempted several times to drive the Islamic State group out of Tikrit, but these efforts have always failed. Reuters notes that despite the retreat of the extremist group's forces from around Baghdad, northern Kurdistan, and Diyala province, they still maintain many of their positions in Salahuddin province. Recently, there have even been reports of ISIS advancing in Anbar province, with one report stating that the city of al-Baghdadi in this province has fallen to the Islamic State group. In this context, Islamic State militants have destroyed ancient artifacts in Mosul, kidnapped over 200 Syrian Christians in three days, and taken 90 Christians hostage in Syria, with 1,600 killed in airstrikes on Islamic State positions in Syria.