Iraqi soldiers killed in desert operation as drug busts surge
Massive amounts of drugs are being smuggled across Iraqi borders while a large anti-terrorism operation including Iran-linked forces and US-led coalition support continues.
ERBIL, Iraq — Multiple major drug busts in Iraq in recent weeks have been followed by an operation against Islamic State (IS) cells in several provinces, including western Anbar.
Enormous quantities of the illicit substance known as Captagon have been seized in recent months in areas not far from Iraq’s western border with Syria, which is part of a vast desert and hard to control.
A recent increase has been seen in fake checkpoints set up by IS fighters wearing military uniforms. This tactic was typically used more by al-Qaeda during the height of its activities in the country; it now seems to be regaining popularity as part of IS’s attempts at boosting its current low-level insurgency.
Some government forces including officers and members of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) have been killed during the ongoing operation known as Operation Solid Will or Operation Willing Resolve II, as the US-led anti-IS coalition calls it. Others have been injured.
