Iraq PM Al Abadi confirms Baghdad is secure

“Baghdad is safer than it was before as we have expanded the security checkpoints and barriers, while ISIS is very far away from the capital,” the prime minister said.

“Iraq’s security forces have struck heavy blows against ISIS, forcing it to the point where it [ISIS] is issuing these false rumors. The current circumstances demonstrate that Iraq’s security apparatus is a force that is to be reckoned with,” Abadi added.

Abadi’s comments came on the day the US Defense Department announced that its anti-ISIS operation in Iraq and Syria was named “Inherent Resolve,” according to international media.
US warplanes have been striking ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria for weeks, although it is unclear how effective the campaign has been as ISIS continues to advance in both countries.
“The majority of Diyala province and large parts of Salah Al-Din province are now under control of the security forces,” the Iraqi prime minister said on Wednesday.

Abadi pledged that “Iraqi security forces will defend every city of Iraq that is subject to terrorism and will continue to pursue efforts to liberate cities [under ISIS control],” calling for greater “regional and international cooperation to combat terrorism.”

Despite holding back ISIS in Salah Al-Din and Diyala, Iraqi forces have struggled to regain control of Iraq’s vast western province of Anbar.

On Tuesday, US President Barack Obama voiced concern about ISIS’s enduring presence in Anbar, as well as the group’s ongoing siege of Kobani in northern Syria. Obama acknowledged that the battle against ISIS, both in Syria and Iraq, will require a “long-term campaign,” following a meeting with senior military officers from 21 countries that have pledged support for the US-led international coalition seeking to combat ISIS.