Iraqi president warns of ISIS revival

Barham Salih emphasised the US and Nato role in the fight against remaining ‘pockets’ of ISIS terrorists

Iraqi Kurdish leader Massud Barzani announces the liberation of Sinjar from ISIS during a press conference held on the outskirts of the Iraqi town on November 13, 2015. AFP

Iraqi families who fled fighting near the city of Mosul prepare to sleep on the ground as they try to enter a temporary displacement camp in Khazair, Iraq. Getty Images

A squadron of UAE fighter jets arrive in Jordan on February 8, 2015, to assist in the kingdom's fight against ISIS. WAM

Turkish armed forces send tanks to the Turkish-Syrian border as clashes intensified with ISIS militants in 2014.Getty Images

A boy waits in a car at a Kurdish checkpoint in Kalak, Iraq. Getty Images

NINEVEH, IRAQ - JUNE 20: An Iraqi PMF fighter looks through the sight of a sniper rifle June 20, 2017 on the Iraq-Syria border in Nineveh, Iraq. The Popular Mobilisation Front (PMF) forces, composed of majority Shi'ite militia, part of the Iraqi forces, have pushed Islamic State militants from the north-western Iraq border strip back into Syria. The PMF now hold the border, crucial to the fall of Islamic State in Mosul, blocking the Islamic State supply route for militants from Syria to Mosul. (Martyn Aim/Getty Images).

NINEVEH, IRAQ - JUNE 20: Iraqi PMF fighters at their position June 20, 2017 on the Iraq-Syria border in Nineveh, Iraq. The Popular Mobilisation Front (PMF) forces, composed of majority Shi'ite militia, part of the Iraqi forces, have pushed Islamic State militants from the north-western Iraq border strip back into Syria. The PMF now hold the border, crucial to the fall of Islamic State in Mosul, blocking the Islamic State supply route for militants from Syria to Mosul. (Martyn Aim/Getty Images).

DEREK, SYRIA - NOVEMBER 13: Yazidi refugees celebrating news of the liberation of their homeland of Sinjar from ISIL extremists on November 13, 2015 in Derek, Rojava, Syria. Kurdish Peshmerga forces in Iraq say they have retaken Sinjar, with the help of airstrikes from U.S. led coalition warplanes. The Islamic State captured Sinjar in August 2014, killing many and sexually enslaving thousands of Yazidi women. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

A Shiite fighter (C) mans a heavy machine gun as he takes his position on at the outskirts of Balad, north of Baghdad on December 25, 2014. Iraq's Shiite led government launched a new offensive on Sunday aimed at breaking ISIL’s grip around both Balad and Dhuluiya. Reuters

KALAK, IRAQ - JUNE 14: Peshmerga military direct traffic at a Kurdish Check point on June 14, 2014 in Kalak, Iraq. Thousands of people have fled Iraq's second city of Mosul after it was overrun by ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) militants. Many have been temporarily housed at various IDP (internally displaced persons) camps around the region including the area close to Erbil, as they hope to enter the safety of the nearby Kurdish region. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

A member of the Kurdish forces stands in an area damaged by an improvised explosive device placed by ISIL militants that killed several Peshmerga fighters and injured dozens late Wednesday. Forces were inspecting the aftermath of the site in Kasr Reej, Iraq on December 18, 2014. Zana Ahmed/AP Photo

Iraqi soldiers stand on a damaged tank during fighting against ISIL militants near Tikrit, northern Iraq, on February 24, 2015. Ali Mohammed/EPA

Iraqi President Barham Salih on Wednesday said "pockets" of ISIS threaten to re-emerge across the divided country, and emphasised the role of US and Nato military support in combatting extremism.

The ongoing civil war in neighbouring Syria has contributed to extremist pockets that threaten Iraqi stability and security, he said.

“There remain pockets of these terrorists across the Middle East, particularly Syria,” said Mr Salih, speaking during a virtual interview at the Brookings Institution’s week-long panel on the Middle East under the Biden administration.

“You look at Idlib. You look at some of the other areas. And we are already witnessing signs of revival of some of the activities by ISIS in the Iraqi deserts near Mosul, near Anbar, sometimes in Kirkuk and so on.

“I do not want to underestimate the significance of the victory accomplished, but we also have to acknowledge that the mission is yet to be accomplished fully and definitively. Without addressing some of the fundamental issues like the Syrian conflict – like dealing with these pockets and areas of the presence of the extremist groups – this war against terror … will have to continue.”

But Mr Salih referenced a symbolic vote by the Iraqi parliament last year to expel US troops after former president Donald Trump’s strike in Baghdad last year that killed Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Suleimani and Iraqi Popular Mobilisation Forces commander Abu Mahdi Al Muhandis.

“Iraq definitely is committed to retaining its full sovereignty,” said Mr Salih. “Neither the United States nor Iraq want to have foreign troops, or American troops for that matter, across its territory. The US administrations have all called for the withdrawal of removing troops. But all of us are committed to maintaining the fight to the end against ISIS.”

Mr Trump reduced the number of troops in Iraq to 2,500 in November during his final months in office. The draw down came amid a months-long, ongoing strategic dialogue between Iraq and the US.

Mr Salih reiterated that the ongoing dialogue will determine the future US force posture in Iraq, but said “there is now also a focus on Nato enhancing its mission in Iraq to provide training to Iraqi forces”.

President Joe Biden discussed the strategic dialogue in a phone call with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi – his first with an Arab leader since taking office – on Tuesday. The call came after three rocket attacks targeted US forces throughout Iraq within the space of a week. An Iran-backed militia claimed responsibility for the first attack in Erbil last week, which killed a military contractor and wounded several US troops.