Hundreds of militants appear at regions between Kirkuk, Diyala, Salahuddin: Report

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) An armed group of militants have recently appeared at regions between Kirkuk, Diyala and Salahuddin, experts were quoted saying.

In a report, published on Sunday, the London-based Al-Arab newspaper said that unidentified armed militants appeared at northern Iraq regions between locations of both federal and Peshmerga troops. The report raised concerns that Islamic State could take advantage of the disputes between Baghdad and Erbil to redeploy its members and launch attacks.

Hundreds of gunmen are there at regions, where there is no Iraqi security, between the borders of Diyala, northern Salahuddin and eastern Kirkuk, the sources said.

Eyewitnesses said they saw convoys carrying hundreds of gunmen there. However, the militants abstained from dealing with people at villages, where they appeared at.

The experts believe that those militants belong to IS, who escaped from Hawija, southwestern Kirkuk, as Iraqi troops invaded it in late October.

The report indicated that several suicide attacks targeted areas in Kirkuk since Iraqi troops gained control on in it in October.

“The presence of such extremist groups there will allow launching attack at inhabited regions and against oil establishments,” the report said.

Maj.Gen. Ali Fadel Umran, Kirkuk Operations Commander, said military operation was launched on Thursday to comb regions that stretch between northwest of Kirkuk reaching to borders of Salahuddin.