Five years after victory was announced by Iraqi security forces in the Battle for Mosul against the Islamic State (IS) in July 2017, Iraq’s Ninevah province watches warily as remnants of the international terrorist group continue to conduct sporadic attacks and operate within desert areas not far from the Syrian border.

In late June, IS claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and summary execution in a desert area of Ninevah of a man from the Jughayfa tribe they claimed was a member of the Iraqi security forces.

A member of his tribe contacted by Al-Monitor said the man killed was actually a shepherd but had close relatives within the security forces. The Jughayfa tribe is known for withstanding an IS siege for over a year in the city of Haditha in Anbar province. Multiple fighters from the tribe have since been killed by IS in retaliation, including on video.

The adjacent Anbar and Ninevah provinces both contain vast desert areas and strong tribal links, along with a long porous border with Syria and routes used by IS. Wadi al-Tharthar, for example, which starts from headstreams in the Sinjar Mountains west of Mosul and flows southward to Lake Tharthar between the Anbar and Salahuddin provinces, has long been known for its IS "ratlines."