KIRKUK, Kurdistan Region—To prevent possible infiltration of militants into the city, officials in Kirkuk are setting up new checkpoints to be jointly run by local police forces and the Kurdish security (Asayish).
“We set up random checkpoints inside Kirkuk and in different places to protect people and their properties,” said Colonel Farhad Fazil.
Kirkuk Governor Najmaldin Karim initiated the joint effort that would bring together the police and the security branches of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
“We have arrested several suspects,” said Col. Fazil from the KDP security.
This is an effort by the city to prevent infiltration of insurgents and ‘Islamic militants’ who might disguise among Anbar refugees that are seeking shelter in the northern parts of the country.
“The coordination between the forces, watching and looking for suspects, and checking vehicles have improved the security of Kirkuk,” Brigadier Simko Abdullah of the PUK security told Rudaw.
In the past several months thousands of Sunni families have fled Anbar province as Iraqi troops battle with militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
Some of these refugees have found their way into the Kurdistan Region and many more have dispersed into other relatively calm Sunni provinces of Diyala, Salahadin and Nineveh.
People in Kirkuk welcome the joint security effort and describe it as “reassuring”.
“Its important for us the citizens of Kirkuk that security is provided,” said a female resident. “Now we feel more secure since there are Asayish forces in the joint checkpoints.”
The multiethnic city of Kirkuk has witnessed numerous deadly attacks by insurgents in the past. However, city officials hail the security situation as far better than the rest of Iraq.
