Four armed Islamic State members arrested at Iraq’s Kirkuk
Federal police forces. File photo
Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) Four Islamic State members were arrested after clashes and security raids by Iraqi forces in Kirkuk province, a security source was quoted saying in Wednesday.
Alsumaria News quoted a source at the Iraqi Federal Police saying that three Islamic State members were arrested with assault rifles in their possession in Bakkara village in Hawija, the extremist group’s former stronghold in southwestern Kirkuk. He said those were taken to a security unit for interrogation.
In a separate incident, the source said, police and Popular Mobilization forces injured an Islamic State member while three others managed to flee when forces stormed an abandoned house in Bastana village, also in Hawija.
He added that troops found an underground tunnel passing under the house following the end of the encounter.
Iraqi forces recaptured Hawija last September as part of a wide-scale military operation to retake areas occupied by IS militants since 2014. The government said last December it had seized back all territories held by the group. But the province has seen occasional attacks by the militants against security forces.