Iraqi police kill three terrorists, seize two explosive belts 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 police forces killed on Saturday three terrorists and seized two explosive belts in the oil-rich Iraqi province of Kirkuk, the Security Media Center said.
In a statement, received by Iraqi website Alghad Press, the center said that a police force set an ambush in Kirkuk as they managed to kill three terrorists and seized two explosive belts.
“The troops also seized six grenades and two Kalashnikov assault rifles during a military operation in al-Rashad area in southwest Kirkuk,” the center added.
Iraq declared the collapse of Islamic State’s territorial influence last November with the recapture of Rawa, a city on Anbar’s western borders with Syria, which was the group’s last bastion in Iraq.
IS declared a self-styled “caliphate” in a third of Iraq and neighboring Syria in 2014. A government campaign, backed by a U.S.-led international coalition and paramilitary forces, was launched in 2016 to retake IS-held regions, managing to retake all havens, most notably the city of Mosul, the group’s previously proclaimed capital.