BAGHDAD — As Iraq prepares for general elections May 12, the Iraqi air force has carried out airstrikes on Islamic State (IS) sites inside Syria — the second operation of its kind this year.

A May 5 post on Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's official Facebook page announced, “Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces Haider al-Abadi has ordered the heroes of the Iraqi air force to strike a site for IS leaders in the south of Dashisha in Syrian territory.”

The Iraqi air force carried out similar strikes April 18, targeting IS improvised explosives factories near the Syrian city of Abu Kamal. These strikes came hours after Abadi’s meeting with the US Special Envoy to Iraq Brett McGurk, which could suggest that Iraq received the green light from the United States.

The latest Iraqi airstrikes were carried out following the announcement by the leadership of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) that it had foiled the infiltration of IS elements through the Tell Safouk border crossing between Iraq and Syria. In addition, PMU Deputy Chief Abu Mahdi al-Mohandis announced May 6, “The security situation in Iraq is still critical and some 20,000 extremist elements remain in the country."