ERBIL, Kurdistan Region- At least 1,000 policemen in Kirkuk and the suburbs have finished their military training and signed up to a new regiment for a future offensive on the Islamic State (ISIS) stronghold of Hawija. Chief of Kirkuk suburban police Brigadier Sarhad Qadir said that the men have been trained in Baghdad. “The 1,000 policemen are Sunni Arabs originally from Hawija," Brig. Qadir told Rudaw Thursday. "After finishing their training in Baghdad they formed two regiments under the name Hawija liberation," The policemen have undergone two months of training, said Brig. Qadir, adding they are being prepared for an offensive on Hawija. Hawija, 55km west of Kirkuk, has been under ISIS control since last year and is considered one of the group's power-bases in Iraq. Kurdish and American special forces have raided two ISIS bases near Hawija in the last two months. In October they freed 70 hostages in an attempt to rescue Kurdish Peshmerga soldiers held prisoners by the extremist group.
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