Shafaq News/ Iraqi state-sanctioned forces in Saladin have ramped up security in anticipation of ISIS attempts to take advantage of the bad weather conditions and the dense fog that engulfed the eastern part of the governorate, paramilitary commanders said on Tuesday.

"The Tribal Mobilization forces have increased the operational readiness in the hotspots in Eastern Saladin (al-Eith, and the borders of Zarka and Kirkuk) since ISIS militants might try to exploit the cold weather, fog, and heavy rain to wage terrorist attacks," the commander in the Tribal Mobilization, Ahmed Fadhel Hassan, told Shafaq News Agency.

Hassan assured that fixed and mobile patrols were assigned to the areas that might be pathways and infiltration points for the extremist militants.

"Al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces-PMF) has devised a plan to cover the entire area between Mutaybeja and al-Na'ema," the commander of the PMF's 19th brigade, Hazem al-Husayni, said, "that includes fielding patrols, setting ambushes, and installing surveillance cameras to prevent nocturnal attacks."

Al-Husayni, however, underplayed the capacity of the extremist groups to wage attacks, but said they might intensify surveillance in the area and the poor conditions of the weather require such preemptive measures.