After the defeat of Daesh, Iraq seemed to be getting back to normal again, addressing its domestic issues and beginning to recover from what IS did in previous years. 

However, the Islamic State is still active in several areas of the Middle East and is taking advantage of the current Covid-19 emergency.

According to Asia News, in April of this year, local sources reported that IS fighters or unknown groups carried out various operations and attacks in disputed areas in northern Iraq, in particular in and around Kirkuk, a city disputed by Iraq’s central government and the Kurds because of its rich oil reserves.

“There are still IS cells and fighters ready to strike in Iraq,” said Fr Paul Thabit Mekko, head of the Christian community in Karamles, a town in the Nineveh plain, northern Iraq.

Speaking to Asia News, he explained that “usually, they (IS fighters) engage in hit-and-run attacks,” but “the scale and intensity of the violence are not comparable to the past.”

Even if the return of the Caliphate is highly unlikely, domestic uncertainty doesn’t help matters with the coronavirus. The health emergency seems to be under control after central authorities have loosened restrictions by reducing the duration of the curfew.

Pandemic may revive Islamic State and hurt Iraq’s minorities, say NGOs

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