Source: Major security operation begins in Diyala

Soldiers of Company B, 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, cross a street using smoke as concealment in the Tahrir neighborhood of Baqouba, in Diyala province on April 25.

Baaquba, May 15, (VOI) – Iraqi and U.S. forces embarked on the largest security operation and deployment in the Sunni province of Diala in three years with the aim of cleansing it of gunmen, an official source from the Iraqi army said on Tuesday.

"Forces from the Iraqi 2nd and 4th Divisions, backed by U.S. troops, started on Monday a wide-scale security campaign to track down armed groups all over the province," the source told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) on condition of anonymity.

He pointed out, "the operation began by tracking down groups that have strongholds in the Hamrin mountains and in adjacent spots to the area of al-Aazim during the first phase," adding, "large military divisions will participate in the operation in order to close all outlets to gunmen."

Baaquba, the capital of Diala province, is one of the Iraqi cities marked by extreme security tension and armed escalations between armed groups on the one hand and security forces deployed there on the other.

Tension in Baaquba, in particular, and Diala in general, has prompted panicky civilians to stay in their homes.

A source from the Multi-National Forces (MNF) told VOI that 3,000 U.S. troops would be deployed in the province as a result of the mounting escalation of armed attacks there.

The source did not give any further details about security measures in Baaquba, 57 km north of Baghdad.

From VOI

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