Iraqi army and Iranian-backed militias go after ISIS fugitives in NW desert

Iraqi elite unit and PMU militia troops under Iranian command Thursday launched a broad mopping up operation against ISIS fugitives from Syrian and Iraqi battles, who have scattered across the wide desert areas between the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers. DEBKAfile’s military sources report: These jihadists have gone to ground in the long, narrow gulches and dense undergrowth of this untamed part of northwestern Iraq which reaches up to the border with Syria. So long as they are able jump out for surprise attacks on the troops operating in eastern Syria, the forces under Iranian command cannot exercise full control over the Syrian-Iraqi border.