The Iraqi Armed Forces announced on Wednesday, February 12 morning the start of the first phase of the “Iraqi Heroes” operation on the borders with Syria and Jordan, Al-Masdar News reports.

The Iraqi security forces said in a statement this morning that “the security forces continue their duties in combating security challenges and protecting Iraq from any threat by assessing the situation and implementing military operations in a planned manner according to intelligence requirements.”

“The Chief of Staff of the Army, First Lieutenant General ‘Uthman Al-Ghanimi, and the Deputy Commander of Joint Operations, Lieutenant General Abdul Amir Rashid Yarallah, chaired an operational security meeting at the Al-Jazira Operations Command that included operations leaders, representatives of the armed forces and the Security Media Cell,” they said.

The statement continued that the Iraqi Armed Forces concluded that the situation along the borders with Jordan and Syria were a pressing matter that require immediate attention.

In December 2017, Iraq announced the liberation of its entire territory from the grip of the Islamic State group after nearly three and a half years of war with the militants that had occupied about a third of the country, declaring the establishment of what it called “the Islamic caliphate.”

The Iraqi forces continue to search, clear, and pursue the remnants of ISIS across the country, to ensure that the militant group and its fleeing elements do not reappear, while the Popular Mobilization Forces are stationed on the border strip with Syria to address the infiltration attempts of the militant group.