Suicide bomber kills 3 IS members in southwest of Kirkuk

Hawija (IraqiNews.com) A suicide bomber blew himself up in the middle of a gathering of Islamic State members in Kirkuk, killing and wounding a number of them, a local source was quoted saying on Sunday.

Almaalomah quoted the source saying that a suicide bomber driving a motorbike stormed a checkpoint run by IS militants at the center of Hawija, the group’s most outstanding stronghold in the province. The explosion killed three members and wounded four others, all Arab nationals.

“Suicide attacks have escalated recently due to clashing commands issued by the leaders of the criminal group, as well as dissenters within the group who prefer to withdraw,” said the source.

Occasional reports have spoken about internal divisions, clash of ranks and dissent attempts among Islamic State members as Iraqi troops made victories in their campaigns targeting IS holdouts. There had also been occasional assassinations of IS leaders which some reports linked to disputes among the militants.

Alsumaria News quoted the source saying that violent armed clashes erupted Friday between IS members from Hawija and others positioned in Abbassi region (35 Km southwest of Kirkuk), leaving many dead and injured.

Hawija and other neighboring areas in southwest Kirkuk have been under Islamic State control since 2014, when the group emerged to proclaim an Islamic “caliphate” in Iraq and Syria.