IS militants kill two people, kidnap three others at fake checkpoint in Kirkuk
Islamic State militants
Kirkuk (Iraqinews.com) – Militants of the Islamic State (IS) group killed on Monday night two people and kidnapped three others in oil-rich Kirkuk, a security source was quoted as saying.
Speaking to Alsumaria News, the source said that IS insurgents killed two persons and kidnapped three others after they set up a “fake checkpoint in a village in Hawija district, Kirkuk.”
“The abducted persons were taken to an unknown location,” according to the source.
The source pointed out that a probe was opened into the incident.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared last October troops recaptured Hawija from Islamic State militants.
The town had fallen to IS in June 2014, when the militant group seized control of much of northern and western Iraq and proclaimed the creation of a self-styled “caliphate”.
There, Islamic State’s reign forced thousands to flee to refugee camps, while hundreds had been executed by the group for attempting to escape the area or contacting security forces.
The offensive on Hawija began on 21 September and has involved army, police and special forces units, as well as the Shia-led paramilitary Popular Mobilization Forces.
Despite the victory over IS in the city, observers say IS is believed to constitute a security threat even after the group’s defeat at its main havens across Iraqi provinces.