IS extremists kill, kidnap 11 Iraqi security forces in Anbar, Kirkuk

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – In two separate incidents, Islamic State (IS) extremists killed seven Iraqi border guards in Anbar Province and kidnapped four police officers in Kirkuk.

An Iraqi security source in Dhi Qar stated that seven Iraqi border guards had been killed in an ambush by IS extremists near al-Rutba city in western Iraq’s Anbar, al-Nasriyar News Network stated on Thursday.

According to the source, the border guards were returning to duty on the Iraqi-Syrian border when they were ambushed by the extremists after they set up a fake checkpoint in the area.

The source added that two drivers were also killed in the IS attack, noting that all the casualties are from Dhi Qar Province.

Earlier in the day, the extremist group claimed responsibility for a similar attack involving a fake checkpoint which targeted a bus carrying tourists on the main road between Kirkuk and Baghdad about two days ago, killing and wounding 35 people.

Meanwhile, in Kirkuk Province, IS extremists kidnapped four Iraqi officers, who are also from Dhi Qar, al-Nasriyar News Network reported.

Such incidents bring to mind tactics that the militant group, and others such as al-Qaeda, carried out before capturing Mosul and large swaths of territory in northern Iraq in 2014.

IS has recently carried out many insurgent attacks and bombings across the country. In particular, in the oil-rich and disputed province of Kirkuk, notably after Iraqi forces and pro-Iran militias took over the territory in October 2017.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany