PHOTOS: Iraqi forces arrest tens of Kurdish youths in Kirkuk

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi security forces and Iranian-backed Shia Hashd al-Shaabi militia on Saturday night stormed a café in Kirkuk and arrested Kurdish youths, alleging they were involved in a terrorist plot.

The operation took place in Azadi neighborhood, where the Kurdish youths were sitting in a café.

The Tactical Cells of the Iraqi Counter-terrorism in a statement labeled it “a gathering of one of the Kurdish separatist cells… planning terrorist attacks against the [Iraqi] security forces.”

Kirkuk is an oil-rich province located in the south of the Kurdistan Region and northern Iraq. It is a diverse province made up of various ethnic and religious background, including Kurds, Turkmen, Arabs, and Christians. Kurds make up the majority of the population.

In mid-2014, Iraqi forces failed to defend the province and fled the area following the emergence of the Islamic State (IS) in northern Iraq.

Since then, Peshmerga forces have been in charge of the security and stability of the wider province, and the city of Kirkuk in particular, with over half a million people fleeing to surrounding areas for protection from IS attacks.

On Oct. 16, the Iranian-backed militia along with Iraqi forces attacked and took control of the province. The assault largely destabilized the area and led to the displacement of over 170,000 people, including Kurds, Turkmen, and Sunni Arabs, to Erbil and Sulaimani.

The Kurds have repeatedly reported abuses and insults they suffer at the hands of the Shia militias and Iraqi forces in Kirkuk, as well as the looting and burning of their houses. 

An Amnesty International report also confirmed that Kurdish neighborhoods were particularly targeted during the mid-October incursion. 

Editing by G.H. Renaud