Police, civilian killed in suspected ISIS series attacks in Kirkuk

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – At least three Iraqi policemen have been killed along with a civilian in a series of alleged ISIS attacks in Kirkuk since Monday night, according to a security source.

A unit of Iraqi Federal Police came under attack by ISIS militants in Kirkuk’s Riyadh district, as a result of which a policeman has been killed and another one injured, a security source who wished to remain anonymous inside Kirkuk Police confirmed to Kurdistan 24.

In the same district and in another attack, alleged ISIS militants killed the head of Hajl village, Mohammad Najam, the source added.

The son of the 51-year-old’s village head has been injured, the source added. 

Having been squeezed financially due to the loss of its territories and grip on resources, ISIS kidnaps villagers in Kirkuk, Saladin, and Diyala provinces for ransom money, according to security officials.

Two more members of the police forces were killed in clashes with the militants in southern Kirkuk’s Daquq district, the source added. The fighting broke out at midnight between the Police’s 5th Squad and the militants.

Although the group has been territorially announced defeated, it still launches hit-and-run attacks in the remote areas of the country, particularly in the disputed territories between Erbil and Baghdad.

Kurdish officials constantly warn against increasing threats of ISIS resurgence due to a lack of cooperation between the country’s formal forces.

Additional reporting by Kurdistan 24 correspondent in Kirkuk Soran Kamaran