Due to its closeness to Hawija, which is one of the main ISIS strongholds in Iraq, Kirkuk security officials are on constant lookout for militant infiltration into the city.
The city was once the scene of many car bomb attacks but the level of violence has decreased in the last two years since the province came under full control Peshmerga and Kurdish security forces.
Kurdish military officials are now speaking of the need for an offensive against ISIS in Hawija to end the threat to Kirkuk and pave the way for the bigger battle in Mosul.
