Kurdish police arrest 39 IS suspects in Kirkuk

KIRKUK, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Kirkuk Police forces early morning on Friday launched an intelligence operation to arrest the suspected terrorist members in the province, capturing more than 39.

The operation was requested by Kirkuk Governor Najmaddin Karim, and it started at 3:00 am, General Director of Kirkuk Police Khattab Omar said in a press conference.

The operation covered 20 neighborhoods in southern Kirkuk and police ultimately arrested over 39 terrorist suspects, nine of whom were members of the Islamic State (IS).

Kirkuk is home to over half a million internally displaced persons (IDPs) who have fled the threat of the jihadist groups in the neighboring provinces. Kirkuk Security officials have frequently mentioned that IS members often try to sneak into Kirkuk by hiding among the IDPs.

“Those IDPs whose hometowns have already been liberated from Da’esh, they should return to their areas,” Omar said, using Arabic acronym for IS.

Kirkuk officials including its Governor, have repeatedly mentioned in the past years that the high number of the IDPs in the province has created a substantial burden for Kirkuk administration.

Kirkuk Governor has stated before that the presence of the jihadist group in Hawija located on the west of Kirkuk has put the province under continuous security threat, calling on the federal government of Iraq to no longer postpone the military operation to liberate Hawija.

Kirkuk is an oil-rich province located in the south of the Kurdistan Region and north of Iraq.

Although Kurds make up the majority of the population there, the province is a diverse is home to different ethnic and religious groups including Turkmen, Arabs, and Christians.

Editing by Ava Homa