ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi authorities on Monday rejected claims that dozens of individuals “classified as terrorists” had been released from prisons in the Kurdistan Region’s Erbil and Duhok provinces and moved toward Kirkuk, Baghdad’s Security Media Cell (SMC) said in a statement, the allegations had “not been proven” by official sources.
The SMC, which reports to the Iraqi prime minister, said it had “followed reports circulated by some media outlets and social media platforms” claiming that “large numbers of people classified as terrorists had been released from some prisons in Erbil and Duhok and transferred toward Kirkuk province.”
“Those statements were not based on any statement or position issued by the competent Iraqi security authorities, and nothing has so far been established to confirm the validity of these claims,” the Cell said, adding that “the competent security and intelligence agencies are continuously monitoring everything related to terrorist threats and the movements of wanted individuals.”
The clarification followed rumors sparked by comments last Monday from political analyst Faiq Yazidi, who told a Baghdad-based outlet that he had received reports of 260 detainees being released - 152 from prisons in Erbil and 108 from Duhok - and transferred to an area near Prde (Altun Kupri), north of Kirkuk.
Yazidi alleged that some of those released were Islamic State (ISIS) members preparing to carry out attacks in Kirkuk and against security forces. He also linked the alleged releases to a recent clash near Prde, saying the incident could have been an attempt to “test the waters” and gauge Baghdad's response.
The statements also coincided with an attack by "unidentified gunmen" on a checkpoint southwest of Kirkuk on Monday evening that killed at least one member of Iraq's Federal Police and wounded three others, Rudaw correspondent Hardi Mohammed reported, amid a recent uptick in such attacks in the disputed territories.
"Unidentified gunmen attacked a checkpoint in the village of al-Burghiliya in Hawija district, southwest of Kirkuk, on Monday night, killing one federal police officer and wounding three others," Mohammed said, adding that "the attack targeted the 3rd Battalion of the Federal Police's 9th Brigade."
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