Islamic State attack on Iraqi checkpoint kills two police, others missing

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Two members of the Iraqi federal police are dead and others are missing and after Islamic State (IS) fighters assaulted an Iraqi checkpoint late Friday in Diyala Province.

The militants attacked what is known as the Hawlan checkpoint linking the towns of Khanaqin and Jalawla. Three of their vehicles were also destroyed, a security source told Kurdistan 24.

The source did not specify the number of officers whose whereabouts are not currently known. 

IS fighters have kidnapped many civilians, village chieftains, and members of the security forces in recent months, with those taken often being later found dead.

On Tuesday, fighter jets of the international anti-IS coalition struck positions of the jihadi group roughly 65 kilometers northwest of Jalawla, as IS sleeper cells appear to operate in less populated areas, likely stockpiling various weaponry and planning future attacks.

Despite the liberation of IS-held territories, there are indications that IS is actively reorganizing and taking advantage of ongoing instability to refocus its insurgent campaign against the Iraqi government.

The group’s attacks, kidnappings, ambushes, and use of explosives has increased in multiple areas across the country since the end of 2017, when Iraq declared a final victory against IS.

The insurgency intensified after the attack and military takeover by Iraqi forces and Shia militias of Kirkuk and other disputed territories in October 2017, driving out Kurdish Peshmerga forces.

Since then, there has been a substantial security vacuum as a result of the lack of military and security cooperation between Erbil and Baghdad. 

Editing by John J. Catherine