Is Iraq Building Concrete Security Wall Around Baghdad?
The Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Saturday denied reports that his country is constructing a concrete wall around the capital city of Baghdad to prevent attacks from the Islamic State terror group.
"Baghdad is the capital of all Iraqis. There can be no wall or fence to isolate it or prevent other civilians from entering it," Al-Abadi said in a statement, according to Reuters.
The prime minister's statement comes days after Baghdad Operations Command said preparations were on for the construction of a security barrier around the city to restrict Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, which controls areas north and west of Baghdad and has launched several attacks.
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Iraq's Interior Ministry spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Saad Maan, earlier said a 65-mile stretch of the 10-feet high wall and trench around the capital was under construction, according to The Associated Press.
The plan is only to re-organize checkpoints and deal with other security issues without restricting transit in and out of the city, the prime minister added in the statement.
Due to tensions between Shias and Sunnis, there are areas within Baghdad that are surrounded by concrete fences.
Meanwhile, a U.S. defense official said the estimated number of ISIS fighters has come down, according to a new intelligence assessment of the terror group in Iraq and Syria.
Quoting sources, CBS News said the amount of fighters is now estimated to be around 19,000 to 25,000, down from previous estimates which usually ranged from 20,000 to 30,000 fighters and as high as 33,000.
The reduction is mainly due to battlefield deaths, trouble recruiting, desertions and increased difficulty getting into Syria, sources said.
"The enemy now controls about 40% less territory than it did at its zenith," Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland, commander of the U.S.-led coalition, was quoted as saying in another report.
However, the estimate of the number of ISIS fighters is going up in Libya – from 2,000 to 3,000 to 5,000 fighters, according to CBS News.
ISIS is an offshoot of al Qaeda and is working to establish a caliphate in the Levant region and beyond. Christian minorities in Iraq and Syria are among the main civilian targets of the Sunni terror group.
ISIS recently razed to the ground Iraq's oldest Christian monastery, the 1400-year-old St. Elijah's monastery in Mosul, where U.S. troops would once worship, in an apparent attempt to erase the region's history. The terror group destroyed the structure months after taking over the Iraqi city.
