Islamic State members, families, turn in themselves in holdout in Kirkuk

Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) Several Islamic State militants, along with their families, turned in themselves to Kurdish troops deployed near the group’s haven in southwestern Kirkuk, where liberation offensives take place, a military source said.

Speaking to Alghad Press on Tuesday, the source said, “over the past few days, as liberation operations kicked off in Hawija, several IS militants, along with their families, turned in themselves to Peshmerga troops deployed in Deibka and other regions near Hawija.”

Peshmerga, according to the source, “detained the militants as well as their families and transferred them to unknown places.”

On Sunday, the Joint Operations Command announced completing the first phase of operations to recapture Hawija, the group’s holdout in southwestern Kirkuk.

Launched last week, the operation managed to take over al-Zab river region, the northern part of Makhoul mountains and several villages west of Tigris River.

Brig. Gen. Yahia Rasoul, spokesman of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command, said previously that the number of Islamic State members in Hawija falls between 800 and 1500. On the same day, Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi and the Joint Operations Command announced launch of first phase of operations to liberate Hawija and western Shirqat.

Hawija and other neighboring regions, west of Kirkuk, have been held by IS since mid-2014, when the group emerged to proclaim an Islamic “caliphate” in Iraq and Syria.