ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Hostages of the Shiite militia known as Hashd al-Shaabi were paraded by Islamic State (ISIS) militants in Hawija, a security official said Wednesday. “A number of Hashd al-Shaabi militants who were caught by ISIS during the Bashir village offensive were paraded in the streets of Hawija,” Azad Jabary, head of the security provincial council in Kirkuk, told Rudaw. “Without the support of Peshmerga, they will not be able to take over Bashir,” he added. Jabary said that Peshmerga officials have told the Iraqi government if they agree to let Peshmerga participate in Bashir offensive they will take control of it in one day with the support of coalition air power. He said the Bashir operation has been postponed. More than 100 Shiite militiamen were recently killed and wounded during the Bashir offensive south of Kirkuk. Around "fifteen [Shiite militia] Hashd al-Shaabi members have been killed, 90 wounded and another 20 missing," in Monday's failed offensive into Bashir Nazm Kahiya, a provincial official in Kirkuk, told Rudaw. ISIS took over Bashir last year. Since then, despite many attempts, the Hashdi al-Shaabi has been unable to liberate it from ISIS's clutch. Bashir is the largest Shiite Turkmen village in the Kirkuk province.
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