Pro-govt fighter killed in armed attack by Islamic State on Kirkuk checkpoint
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) – A fighter of the pro-government Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) was killed Monday in an armed attack by Islamic State against a security checkpoint in the Iraqi province of Kirkuk, a security source was quoted as saying.
“IS militants attacked a security checkpoint run by the Popular Mobilization Forces in Brayati village, in northwestern Kirkuk,” the source told Alsumaria News TV channel, adding that a fighter of the PMF was killed in the attack.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, further said that a security force sealed off the incident site and carried the body to the forensic medicine department.
Popular Mobilization Forces, an alliance of volunteer Shia paramilitary forces, have actively backed the Iraqi government’s military campaign against IS since 2014, when they were formed upon a top Shia clergy edict to counter the Sunni Jihadist group.
PMF won official recognition as a national force late 2016, becoming under the command of the prime minister, who is also the supreme commander of the armed forces.