Iraq launches airstrikes on IS targets in Syria in coordination with Assad regime

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared final victory over the Islamic State group in December but it still poses a threat from pockets along the border with Syria.

MENA

1 min read

The New Arab & agencies

19 April, 2018

IS still poses a threat in Iraq from pockets along the border with Syria. [Getty]

The Iraqi air force on Thursday carried out a "deadly raid" against Islamic State positions in neighbouring Syria, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's office said.

The strike against the militants was conducted on Abadi's order "because of the danger they pose to Iraqi territory," a statement said.

An Iraqi military spokesperson told Reuters that the strikes were carried out in coordination with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Iraq's military used F16 jets to cross into Syria and launch the airstrikes.

IS swept across large parts of Syria and neighbouring Iraq in 2014, declaring a cross-border "caliphate" in areas they controlled.

Abadi declared final victory over the ultra hard-line group in December but it still poses a threat from pockets along the border with Syria and has continued to carry out ambushes, assassinations and bombings across Iraq.

Iraq currently has good relations with Iran and Russia, Assad's main backers in the seven-year Syrian civil war, while also enjoying strong support from the US-led coalition.