Iraqi Security Media Cell Says 3 Terrorists Killed in Prde

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – Iraq’s Security Media Cell announced on Friday that three terrorists were killed and another was arrested in the town of Prde, in a special operation backed by a precise airstrike from army aviation. The cell is part of the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

In its statement, the cell said the operation took place at 8 p.m. It added that security forces are continuing detailed search and inspection operations in the area and will release more details later.

The announcement followed several hours of reports from Kurdistan24’s correspondent, Soran Kamaran, that an Iraqi army force had moved toward Prde and that the Erbil-Kirkuk road had been closed. He said the deployment came after residents reported seeing suspected ISIS militants and alerted security forces.

Earlier on Friday, Col. Samir Shwani, director of the Prde police station, told Kurdistan24 that the army force entered the town under the direct supervision of the Kirkuk operations commander because of suspected ISIS presence and movements in and around Prde. He said the force temporarily closed the main Kirkuk-Erbil road.

Shwani said the situation has since returned to normal. According to him, the force searched several locations suspected of hosting ISIS militants and then withdrew, and none remain in the town. To reassure residents and protect the town’s security, some military vehicles have been temporarily positioned in certain spots until the situation is fully confirmed as normal, he said.

Kurdistan24 correspondent Hemin Dalo later gave a fuller account of the incident. He said intelligence information first indicated that a vehicle carrying four ISIS militants had entered the town. A large Iraqi army force then entered Prde, and both the Erbil-Kirkuk and Prde-Kirkuk main roads were closed.

According to Dalo, the militants were targeted in an ambush by security forces and by aerial bombardment in a village in the Prde area. Three ISIS militants were killed, and the person who had transported them in the vehicle was arrested.

Dalo said life in Prde has returned to normal, but residents are worried that ISIS militants have been able to infiltrate the area easily on several occasions. Kurdistan24 has previously reported that ISIS militants carried out activities near Prde in recent periods, including the abduction of a Kurdish citizen.

Dalo said that, according to information available, a large security gap two to three kilometers from Prde has existed since the events of Oct. 16, 2017.

Because of the extensive farmland, the area is not easy to control, and ISIS militants often hide for months in the vegetation, he said. Farmers in the area have told Kurdistan24 several times that they cannot visit their farms after dark because of the risk of attacks and militant movement.

The correspondent added that, because of dozens of such security gaps, which he said allow ISIS militants to move easily at night, most villages on the outskirts of Prde have been emptied of residents. He said residents of the area are united in calling for Peshmerga forces to return to their areas so they can safely go back to their homes.