UPDATE: Iraqi troops kill five Islamic State militants, destroy 10 hotbeds in Kirkuk
An Iraqi solider waves the “V” victory sign following a great triumph over the Islamic State group
Kirkuk (Iraqinews.com) – Iraqi police forces killed on Wednesday five Islamic State terrorists and destroyed 10 of their hotbeds in Kirkuk, a police chief was quoted as saying.
Iraqi website Alghad Press quoted commander of the Iraqi Federal Police Maj. Gen. Raed Shaker Jawdat as saying that the troops also “destroyed five booby-trapped vehicles, seized a mortar and raided an IS training camp in al-Orouba village in Kirkuk.”
“Four IS tunnels were destroyed and 10 suspects were arrested during the security campaign as well,” Jawdat pointed out.
Federal police launched a wide-scale security campaign in Kirkuk earlier in the day in response to recent attacks launched by Islamic State group on some of the governorate’s villages.
The campaign was mounted in southern and western Kirkuk with the aim of eliminating IS militants stationed there.
Kirkuk officials always urge reinforcing military troops in the south and west of the province, as the region still has Islamic State members who escaped during liberation of Hawija to remote areas.
In October, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared that Iraqi troops recaptured Hawija, a main town held by Islamic State in the country.
The town had fallen to IS in June 2014, when the militant group seized control of much of northern and western Iraq and proclaimed the creation of a self-styled “caliphate”.
There, Islamic State’s reign forced thousands to flee to refugee camps, while hundreds had been executed by the group for attempting to escape the area or contacting security forces.