Iraqi PM fires head of Baghdad security after shrine attack

Iraqi forces recaptured a northern air base from the Islamic State group on Saturday, a victory hailed by the prime minister as a key step ahead of the long-awaited operation to retake the northern city of Mosul.

Al-Abadi fired the commander of Baghdad Operations, a statement from his office said, as the embattled prime minister faced growing protests stemming from Sunday’s massive vehicle bombing, one of the deadliest since the 2003 USA -led invasion of Iraq. Despite a string of territorial defeats, IS still holds pockets of territory in northern and western Iraq, including the country’s second largest city of Mosul.

But retaking Mosul itself is not likely to come anytime soon.

Recapturing and securing al-Qayyarah – one of the biggest air bases in Iraq – is seen as a breakthrough in the mission to liberate Mosul, as the base can be used by the army and the US -led worldwide coalition in further missions against ISIS in the region. It will be an enormous undertaking for Iraqi troops, even though they are backed by airstrikes from the USA -led coalition and have been joined by pro-government fighters – mostly Shiite militias.

But Ramadan this year was different: the Islamic State group, freshly defeated in the Iraqi city of Fallujah and steadily losing territory, launched a wave of attacks that killed 350 people across several countries during the holy month and raised the question of what drives the militants to ever more spectacular violence.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi sacked the head of the Baghdad security command and other officials after a bombing in the capital killed 292 people, his office said on Friday. And late Thursday, an attack at a Shiite shrine north of Baghdad killed 37 people.

IS claimed responsibility for the shrine attack in a statement posted online.

Interior Minister Mohammed Ghabban tendered his resignation following the bombing, and authorities also announced the execution of five convicts and the arrest of 40 jihadists in an apparent bid to limit the fallout from the attack.

Abadi issued “an order to relieve the Baghdad Operations commander of his position, and relieving security and intelligence officials in Baghdad of their positions”, a statement said.