On 11 August, Islamic
State fighters captured town of Jalula in Diyala province. Institute for the
Study of War (ISW), a Washington-based think tank, reported then that IS
militants had flew the black flags of the Islamic State over government
building in Jalula, while nearly half of the town’s population had fled to
nearby city of Khanaqin, 14 miles from Jalula and only 8 miles from the Iranian
border. Jalula is the closest that the advancing IS fighters have gotten to
Iran. Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) have said that they would mount an offensive
to dislodge the militants from Jalula in the coming days.
The last ISF offensive
during the current conflict occurred in mid-July when the Iraqi Special Forces,
armor units, and Iranian-backed Shia militias, supported by Iraqi Air Force attack
jet fighters, launched an all-out attack on Tikrit to retake the city from the
Islamic State militants. They advanced to the center of the city, but
eventually were defeated by the Islamic State fighters and had to retreat.
Launching an offensive
against IS in Jalula, however, has a special significance. The town is the
closest the IS has gotten to the Iranian territory and its forces now threaten
the border city of Khanaqin, which is only 19 miles from the Iranian city of
Qasr-e Shirin. This is a direct threat to Iran and the Iranians and their Shia
militia allies are expected to actively support the ISF to dislodge the IS
fighters from Jalula.
Map credit: BBC
