Iraqi police kill three suicide attackers, southwest of Kirkuk
In a statement on Friday, the command said “after confrontations with militants in al-Rashad region, Kirkuk, the Federal Police managed to kill three Islamic State members who were wearing explosive belts. One of them blew up himself. Two vehicles for the militants were burnt.”
The militants, according to the statement, “were planning to carry out a terrorist operation.”
On Tuesday, news reports quoted sources saying an Iraqi policeman was killed and two others were injured Tuesday in clashes with Islamic State militants in western Kirkuk. On the same day, the police killed four members of Islamic State in Hawija, southwest of Kirkuk.
Thousands of Islamic State militants as well as Iraqi civilians were killed since the government campaign, backed by paramilitary troops and the coalition was launched in October 2016.
Islamic State continues to launch sporadic attacks across Iraq against troops. Security reports indicate that the militant group still poses threat against stability in the country. The group still has dormant cells, through which it carries out attacks, across Iraq like it used to do before 2014.
In December, the Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced gaining control on all the territories that were captured by Islamic State, since 2014.