Khalid and three others involved in the radio broadcasts claim that IS has threatened them, and that the extremist group has fired rockets at them on at least two occasions, most recently in early May when a rocket landed outside the military base. However, it is difficult to determine whether the rocket targeted the radio station or the base itself.
Sitting in a small air-conditioned room adjacent to the radio station’s studio, Gen. Firas Bashar oversees the radio broadcasts and is in charge of the army’s media relations. He said the US-led coalition that assists Iraqi forces in fighting IS donated the radio equipment. The station launched in October 2015 and is the only such project “in countering enemy propaganda” within the Iraqi military establishment.
Officials such as Bashar hope this outreach operation allows them to win the hearts and minds of the people in rural Ninevah.
“We try to counter IS propaganda and assure citizens of our good intentions and efforts to liberate them,” Bashar, a Sunni officer, told Al-Monitor. But establishing rapport with Sunnis here, who for years have been suspicious of Shiite-dominated Iraqi institutions, including the army, may not be an easy task.
IS swept through much of Ninevah and a number of other Sunni-dominated areas in June 2014 within just a few days, highlighting the lack of popular support for the official Iraqi security establishment.
The programming of the radio station is a mix of anti-IS propaganda, safety instructions and patriotic songs to raise morale among residents.
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