ISIS sleeper cells attack Iraqi army in disputed Kirkuk, kill 2 soldiers

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Islamic State sleeper cells launched an attack on an Iraqi army position in the southern outskirts of Kirkuk on Wednesday, killing at least two soldiers, according to security sources.

The Islamic State militants launched their attack late on Wednesday night at an army post in Kirkuk on the road between Daquq and the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, security sources told Kurdistan 24.

According to the sources, violent clashes erupted between the terrorists and members of the Iraqi army. At least two soldiers were killed in the altercation.

Iraq’s security media cell later revealed in a statement that the Islamic State attack had targeted the fourth company in the first regiment of the 45th Army Brigade. The statement also confirmed the two deaths.

Neither the security sources nor the media cell mentioned whether the clashes had caused casualties among the terror group.

Another security source said the Islamic State sleeper cells had ambushed the army, which prompted the soldiers to respond by opening fire.

This is the second attack by the so-called Islamic State against the Iraqi army in Kirkuk within a week.

Read More: Iraqi forces make more arrests in anti-ISIS crackdown as attack kills soldier

Iraq declared victory over the Islamic State in 2017, but senior military leaders have warned that the organization is still maintaining activity through sleeper cells, exercising the strongest influence in tracts rural Iraq.

From their hideouts in bleak and inhospitable parts of the country, the terror group’s sleeper cells have planned and launched a series of attacks on security forces in Nineveh, Anbar, Salahuddin, Diyala, and Kirkuk provinces.