Islamic State’s police chief killed in airstrike, southwest of Kirkuk

Hawija (IraqiNews.com) Islamic State’s police chief was killed, while five others were injured in an airstrike, southwest of Kirkuk, a local source from the province was quoted saying.

“IS leader in charge of the so-called Islamic police in Hawija, southwest of Kirkuk, was killed along with one of his companions, while five others were wounded as an airstrike targeted a group’s rest house at the outskirts of the town,” the source told AlSumaria News on Monday.

The source, who preferred anonymity, added that the killed member was from the group’s second-line leaders in Kirkuk.

On Sunday, nine IS militants were killed as U.S.-led coalition jets targeted IS locations in al-Rashad, al-Riyadh and Hawija, southwestern Kirkuk.

Hawija, located west of Kirkuk, have been held by IS since mid-2014, when the group emerged to proclaim an Islamic “caliphate” in Iraq and Syria. The group executed dozens of civilians and security members there, forcing thousands to flee homes.

Security officials say tens of IS families in the group’s so-called Diyala State headed to Hawija after losing the cities they controlled after June 2014.

There has been pressure on Iraqi government to hasten with invading Hawija, given the humanitarian crisis people were experiencing under the group’s rule. Further offensives are expected to be launched across Iraq.