ISIS launches 3 attacks in one night on Iraqi Security Forces

These attacks were launched only a week after the end of the "Iron Hammer" operation in Kirkuk and Salahuddin.

Mustafa Shilani 2022/04/30 12:08

Iraqi security forces conduct a counterterrorism operation in the province of Diyala. (Photo: ISF)

Iraq Iraq Kurdistan ISIS Disputed Terrftories

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – ISIS militants carried out three attacks on Iraqi security forces in the Daquq and Duz Khurmatu districts in the Kirkuk and Salahuddin provinces, one of which targeted the convoy of the commander of the Federal Police's Fifth Division.

The first attack took place around 7:00 pm on Wednesday, April 27, 2022, when militants attacked the forces of the 14th Division of the Iraqi Army in the al-Zarka village of Duz Khurmatu with sniper weapons.

A security source told Kurdistan 24 that ISIS snipers attacked a company of the division, severely wounding a soldier.

At about 10 on the same night, a company of the Federal Police’s 18th brigade was attacked in the village of Zaghitun in the Al-Rashad district, injuring a policeman.

The source indicated that "after that attack, the convoy of the commander of the Fifth Division in the Federal Police was targeted within the borders of Daquq, south of Kirkuk province, causing only material damages."

The three attacks came 24 hours after an attack by armed men on the village of Mansour in the Haftgar area of the Daquq district, which was confronted by the residents of the village and the security forces, resulting in a civilian injury.

These attacks were launched a week after the end of the "Iron Hammer" operation, where security forces targeted seven villages in the Lake Rokhana and al-Zarka areas in the Kirkuk and Salahuddin provinces.

During the military operation, a large tunnel for ISIS militants was found, and a large number of weapons, ammunition, and explosive materials were seized.

ISIS cells continue to carry out insurgent attacks, especially in rural parts of the disputed territories

After the Kurdistan Region's 2017 independence referendum, Iraqi forces and the Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) pushed the Peshmerga out of contested areas, including the oil-rich Kirkuk province.

Since then, the areas have suffered from a lack of unified military strategy, encompassing the large tracts of land ranging from Khanaqin in the central Diyala province to Kirkuk and northward to multiple areas surrounding Mosul.