Iraq to Continue Anti-ISIL Operations inside Syria

“The attacks against the ISIL in Syria will continue until the ISIL threat exists to Iraq’s security,” Rasoul was quoted by the Arabic-language al-Akhbar newspaper as saying on Saturday.

He added that the Thursday offensive against the ISIL was launched after intelligence showed that the terrorist group aims to attack the Iraqi military units deployed at the common borders with Syria.

Iraqi announced that it had carried out “deadly air strikes” against the ISIL terrorists situated in pockets inside neighboring Syria.

The announcement came days after Haider al-Abadi, Iraq’s prime minister, said his country would take action against ISIL if they threatened Iraq’s security.

Iraqi F-16 fighter jets crossed into Syria on Thursday in coordination with the Syrian army, al-Abadi’s office said in a statement.

Based on orders from the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Haider al-Abadi, our heroic air force carried out deadly air strikes against ISIL sites in Syria on Thursday near the border with Iraq,” it said.

According to the statement, the attacks countered dangers posed by ISIL and reflected the Iraqi armed forces’ “military capabilities in fighting terror”.