Iraqi paramilitary fighters kill two Islamic State militants in Kirkuk
A Shi’ite volunteer wearing a mask, who has joined the Iraqi army to fight against the predominantly Sunni militants from the radical Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), looks on during a parade on a street in Kanaan, Diyala province, June 26, 2014.
Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) – Iraqi paramilitary fighters of al-Hashd al-Shaabi killed on Saturday two members of Islamic State terrorist group in Hawija district of Kirkuk.
“A special force from al-Hashd al-Shaabi managed to kill two members of Daesh (IS group) near Hawija in Kirkuk,” Ali al-Husseini, the commander of al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) in the northern axis, told Almaalomah news website.
“The operation came after receiving accurate intelligence reports about the presence of IS hideouts in Hawija,” Husseini said, indicating that another IS hideaway was destroyed near Hamrin Mountains.
In October 2017, former Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi declared that Iraqi troops recaptured Hawija, a main town held by Islamic State in the country.
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.