IS gunmen kill three civilians in overnight raid on northwestern Kirkuk village

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Three civilians were killed after Islamic State (IS) gunmen launched an attack in a village in northwestern Kirkuk Province, a local security source told Kurdistan 24 on Sunday.

The attack took place overnight in the village of Keef in the town of Dibs, 45 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of the disputed province of Kirkuk.

According to the security source, a group of armed militants used light weapons to attack the village, disguising themselves as federal police officers—a reoccurring theme in recent attacks in the vicinity of Kirkuk.

“About 10 members of the Islamic State launched the attack, killing three people before burning a civilian’s vehicle and stealing another,” the source said, adding that the militants fled to an unknown destination.

Despite Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s “final victory” announcement against the extremist group last December, IS maintains a presence in the country.

In recent weeks, a string of attacks involving fake security checkpoints and gunmen disguised as federal police officers have been claimed by the militant group.

Last month, Abadi admitted the war against IS was not over, and even expressed his readiness to coordinate with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in disputed areas where the extremists’ sleeper cells are active.

The Iraqi Prime Minister noted that the conflict between the KRG and the Iraqi government following Kurdistan’s independence referendum in September had created a “security vacuum” which IS had exploited.

“We are creating security cells under the leadership of the federal government’s Counter Terrorism Forces with the participation of security forces from the Kurdistan Region to fill the security vacuum,” he explained.