Islamic State militants execute chieftain in Iraq’s Kirkuk

Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) Islamic State militants have kidnapped and executed a tribal chief in Iraq’s Kirkuk as the province continues to record security breaches by the group against civilians and security members.

Alsumaria News quoted a security source saying that an armed IS group invaded late Tuesday a home in the village of Kanaan, al-Riyadh, southwest of Kirkuk, and kidnapped the village’s chief, Mahguob Khalaf, before executing him by gunfire.

Several tribal chiefs have been assassinated by IS over the past few months after the group lost control over all of the territories they had occupied since 2014.

During its occupation of Iraqi territories, IS had used to execute civilians for fleeing its strongholds or for cooperating with Iraqi security forces.

Iraq declared the recapture of IS strongholds in Kirkuk in October, and a final victory over the group in all of Iraq in December. But since then, the group has staged several attacks against civilians and security forces.