Iraq Exaggerates Its Latest Operation Against The Islamic State Again

Iraq helped kill the Islamic State's Mutaz Noman al-Jabouri which it claimed was the governor of Iraq and assistant to its leader when he wasn't (AIN)

For the second time in a week the Iraqi government has exaggerated its work against the Islamic State. On May 26 Baghdad announced it helped kill Mutaz Noman al-Jabouri who it claimed was IS’ governor of Iraq and the assistant to its leader when he wasn’t. This came after Iraq said it captured Abd Nasser Qirdash who was supposedly considered to be the successor of Abu Bakr al-Baghdad when in fact he was turned over by the Syrian Democratic Forces. This is in line with previous governments that also inflated its victories against the militants.

(Center for Global Policy)

 

The Iraqi government said that coordination between the Iraqi National Intelligence Agency and the Counter Terror Service led to a Coalition air strike in Syria’s Der Ezzor which killed Mutaz Noman al-Jabouri. It claimed that Jabouri aka Haji Taiseer was the Islamic State’s governor of Iraq, assistant to the head of the organization, and responsible for planning and coordinating foreign terrorist operations. In fact, Jabouri was a member of the five man Delegated Committee which runs departments on security, safe houses, religious affairs, media, and funding.  The head of the Delegated Committee and aide to IS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi al-Qurashi is Sami Jassim Mohamed al-Jabouri and the Governor of Iraq is Jabbar Salman Ali al-Issawi. This along with the claim that it captured Qirdash shows that the new Kazemi government is just like its predecessors. It is not happy with its actual victories against the Islamic State, so it embellishes its accomplishments. Iraq has a long history of this from claiming that it captured IS leader Abu Omar al-Baghdadi in 2009 to declaring cities and villages were freed before they were in the war against the Islamic State to more recently saying its security sweeps had cleared a vast area when its forces had never even gone through the whole place. This also comes in the midst of the Islamic State’s annual spring-summer offensive, so the new prime minister might want to prove that he is on top of the fight against the militants by announcing these stories. PM Kazemi also heads the Iraqi National Intelligence Service which was involved in both cases, so it boosts his standing as well.

 

SOURCES

 

Aldroubi, Mina, “ISIS ‘governor of Iraq’ killed in Syria, says Baghdad,” The National, 5/26/20

 

AIN, “Who is the governor of Iraq Haji Taiseer, who was killed by the anti-terror service today?” 5/26/20

 

Al-Hashimi, Husham, “ISIS 2020: New Structures and Leaders in Iraq Revealed,” Center for Global Policy, 5/19/20

 

Lead Inspector General Report To The United States Congress, “Operation Inherent Resolve, January 1,2020-March 31, 2020,” 5/13/20

 

Roggio, Bill, “Islamic State of Iraq leader reported captured,” Long War Journal, 4/23/09