Kurdistan turns in over 100 militants to Iraqi troops: Commander
The spokesman for the Joint Operations Command Brigadier General Yahya Rasoul
In remarks on Saturday, Brig. Gen. Yehia Rasool, spokesperson for the Command, said “Counter-Terrorism Service, in coordination with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, have received 152 terrorists from Sulaimaniya. Investigations with them are ongoing.”
Moreover, Rasool said, “inspection operations in Kirkuk are very normal. They do not take place in Kurdish district.
He indicated that inspection always take place in attendance of mayors of the regions as well as Kirkuk police and kurdish troops there.
The inspection, according to Rasool, “take place respectfully. No invasions are made by the CTS.”
He also added that “Kirkuk has not been inspected for 14 years. This is very normal.”
He concluded saying that “people are cooperative but Kurdish channels are circulating lies.”
Sabah al-Noaman, spokesperson for the army’s elite Counter-Terrorism Service, denied on Thursday news on confrontations with gunmen in Kirkuk, saying situation under control. This came after several news reports mentioned that unidentified gunmen opened fire against a patrol of joint troops in the region, located east of Kirkuk without casualties reported among security personnel.
Two suicide attacks took place in central Kirkuk, earlier this week, leaving a civilian killed and 21 others wounded.
Iraqi troops, backed by PMFs, took over Kirkuk province from Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in October, fulfilling instructions previously made by Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi to retake areas where sovereignty is disputed with Kurdistan Region’s Government.
The Iraqi military command said it became in control over all of the province’s oil fields, military bases and government facilities. The military takeover came after Kurdistan voted in September to secede from Iraq.