Iraqi forces ambush, kill five IS extremists plotting attack in Kirkuk

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi security forces have ambushed and killed five Islamic State (IS) extremists in Kirkuk Province, a local police officer said on Sunday.

“The militants were ambushed by Iraqi security forces while preparing to attack a village in the al-Rashad district, southwest of Kirkuk,” Captain Hamed al-Obaidi told Anadolu Agency.

Obaidi added that “several other militants had fled unscathed.”

The security situation in Kirkuk remains tense ever since the withdrawal of Kurdish Peshmerga following a military takeover of the region by Iraqi forces and Iran-backed militias.

When IS emerged in mid-2014, they overran large swaths of territory in northern and western Iraq and neighboring Syria.

The Iraqi army notably collapsed in the face of IS’ emergence forcing Peshmerga forces to advance to Kirkuk where they prevented the extremists from expanding further north into the Kurdistan Region.

The area had been protected by the Kurdish troops for years until Oct. 16, 2017, when Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed Shia-dominated Hashd al-Shaabi forces advanced with tanks and heavy artillery demanding the Peshmerga leave their posts.

The move was a reaction from the central government in Baghdad to the Kurdistan Region’s historic Sep. 25 independence referendum.

Relations between Erbil and Baghdad quickly deteriorated following the events of Oct. 16 but are gradually beginning to improve after several meetings between delegations from both sides.

Despite Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declaring a “final victory” over IS in December, the extremist group is still present in the country where they continue to carry out random bombings, assassinations, and kidnappings.