Jihadist threat to Iraq to grow after Mosul: Kurdish intelligence official

PanARMENIAN.Net - If Islamic State is driven from its Iraqi stronghold of Mosul, it will switch tactics to wage an insurgency from mountains and deserts, a top Kurdish intelligence official has told Reuters, the news agency reports.

Lahur Talabany, a senior figure in Kurdistan’s counter-terrorism efforts, also expressed concerns that another group similar to the Sunni Muslim Islamic State could emerge to menace Iraq again if political leaders fail to secure reconciliation between sects.

"Mosul will get taken ... I think it is the asymmetric warfare that we need to be worried about," he said.

"Our jobs will become much more difficult. The army will take a rest a little, but it will be the job of security forces that will become more difficult."

Talabany said there were signs that Islamic State planned to shelter in the Hamrin mountains in the northeast, which could serve as a base for attacks on several provinces.

He cited about five attacks on security forces in Diyala province in the last month.

"It is a very tough terrain. It is very difficult for the Iraqi military to control," said Talabany. "It’s a good hideout place and a place they could have access from province to province without getting detected."

The army, backed by Kurdish forces and Shi'ite militias operating in nearby towns and villages, has driven Islamic State from eastern Mosul after more than three months of battles.