Iraqi expert calls provinces for joint work

Iraqi parliamentarian Iskandar Watot stressed the importance of the joint work between the Iraqi provinces to support the peace and security in different cities and to prevent the spread of terrorist elements in these governorates in all over the country.

He added, in an interview with “Arabs Today”, that the car bombs targeting the Iraqi capital of Baghdad come from the other provinces. He called the Iraqi authorities for providing necessary equipment to inspect the cars entering the Iraqi capital, saying that the current equipment existed with the Iraqi forces is not enough to discover the explosive devices inside the cars.

He revealed that the Iraqi forces were fully depending on the use of sonar to detect the explosives, while the authorities prevented its use after the bombing of Karrada, saying that the device came in the framework of a bad deal conducted by officials who were referred to the judiciary later.

He continued, “The Iraqi authorities turned to use several methods to protect the internal security, including the use of police dogs used currently in a large number of places in the country, while these dogs still need more efforts to be more active in detecting the explosives.” He blamed Iraq’s weather conditions for the inability of such dogs to perform their role, saying that they also need special kinds of food that are not provided in the checkpoints.

He added that the Iraqi parliament formed committees to monitor the work of these dogs, calling the authorities for ending the service of old ones and to replace them with younger dogs to be more active in detecting the explosives. He blamed the Lack of dogs’ care for Karrada bombing, saying that the car bomb was inspected by a police dog, while it failed to detect the explosive due to the lack of care. He added that the soldiers were feeding the dogs from their own food, saying that it is a big mistake and a manipulation of the citizens’ lives.

He added that Iraq’s security should be collective responsibility, calling Kurdistan’s government for performing a role in protecting the security of the country. He added that they should provide support for Baghdad’s government in the field of security.

Regarding the trenches drilled by the Iraqi forces in Najaf and Karbala, he said that such measures came due to the lack of security equipment in these areas so the local authorities turned to take such measures to prevent the infiltration of terrorist elements to these cities. He stressed the need for protecting the border area not to allow any extremist elements to enter the country during the coming period.