Khanaqin witnesses worst disasters since Saddam's fall

Shafaq News/ Officials and citizens in Khanaqin (105 km northeast of Diyala), launched distress calls for the federal government and security authorities to rescue the villages and its people from the most severe terrorist attacks since 2003.
Khanaqin is witnessing a clear rise in the rates of security breaches, which became almost daily after the withdrawal of Peshmerga in 2017, which was deployed in the area and controlled the security.
Delir Hasan Sayeh, Khanaqin’s mayor, describes the security condition in Khanaqin as the worst since 2003, warning from potential security disasters, unless the situation is fully addressed and the citizens are reassured that their safety is guaranteed.
Sayeh stated to Shafaq News Agency, “violence increased and the security deteriorated due to the wide geographical area in which ISIS moves, as well as the presence of many valleys and rivers, which the terrorists have turned into shelters to hide in, in addition to the weakness and absence of the intelligence effort”
Sayeh adds, “The citizens of Khanaqin are suffering from an unprecedented psychological terror and fear of losing their livelihoods as a result of the burning of the wheat fields by terrorist organizations, noting that the people will help the leaders to stop the daily bloodshed in Khanaqin and its outskirts.”
Mohammad Amin Zangana, a farmer from Mubarak village in Khanaqin, warned from the migration of dozens of villages towards Garmiyan areas to escape the assaults of the terrorists and the dissipated livelihoods, also considered what’s happening as a security precedent that’s not been witnessed in several years.
Zangana affirmed to Shafaq News Agency, “The migration is not limited to the Kurdish villages, as dozens of Arab villages are about to be displaced due to the constant attacks and kidnappings that affect farmers.”, adding that, “more than 20 villages are threatened with migration and displacement to other areas to escape the danger of the terrorist organizations.”
Sameer Muhammad Noor, Khanaqin’s former dissolved council chief, indicated that, “Khanaqin citizens are demanding the return of Peshmerga and closing the security-lost areas between Khanaqin and Garmiyan borders”
“Redeploying Peshmerga and coordinating with the army forces in sharing responsibilities will completely end the threat of daily terrorist attacks and prevent the people’s growing fear.” Noor stated to Shafaq News agency.
While the governor of Diyala, Muthana Al-Tamimi on Friday attributed to Shafaq News, “the reasons behind the escalated terrorist attacks in some areas of the province, especially in the outskirts of Khanaqin, are the absence of adequate plans and the failure to define the responsibilities of the joint security sectors in the border areas between Diyala and Kurdistan, as well as between Diyala and Salahuddin.
The disputed areas between Baghdad and Erbil in Khanaqin’s outskirts were exposed in the past months to accidents and explosive attacks that caused casualties and injuries among civilians and security personnel, due to the infiltration of armed terrorists fleeing from other provinces to the outskirts of Khanaqin.
The withdrawal of Peshmarga from Khanaqin and its outskirts in 2017 led to a vast security gap that escalated the terrorist attacks in an unprecedented manner.
Statistics confirm that 84 villages in Khanaqin are security-lost areas, which are vulnerable to infiltration and transportation of terrorists coming from Tal-Himrin, Kirkuk and Salahuddin.