Exclusive interview with Kirkuk governor on today’s ISIS attack in the city

Read the full text of a Rudaw TV interview with Kirkuk governor Najmaldin Karim on today’s ISIS militant attack on several locations inside the city. This interview was conducted at 9:00 am EBL time.

Rudaw: What can you tell us about today’s ISIS attack in Kirkuk?

Najmaldin Karim: First of all, the situation in Kirkuk is good. We’ve reduced traffic. This was not unexpected. It was always possible that ISIS sleeper cells in Kirkuk would be activated to create chaos. Because of the ongoing Mosul offensive they may want to create a situation where forces would be withdrawn from there [Mosul] and the focus shifted to Kirkuk. Also because they are being defeated in Mosul, they want to boost their morale with these kinds of actions.

This morning, at 4:00 am, they had apparently assigned some of their people to carry out terrorist acts in three places. But all their moves were foiled and our security forces are now in control. Some of them have hidden themselves inside mosques and tall buildings and try to shoot as snipers, but our forces are in control and in places where escalations were feared it was all controlled. Strong forces combined of security, police and anti-terrorism are all inside Kirkuk today.

Rudaw: Are they inside some government buildings still?

Najmaldin Karim: They were never inside any government building. That news is not correct. They headed for a police station but the police repelled them and killed them. Their bodies still lay there. They did not take any police station or any government department.

Rudaw: Were these militants of sleeper cells or had come from outside Kirkuk?

Najmaldin Karim: They were sleeper cells and recently in the midst of the talk of an offensive against Hawija, many women and children fled to Kirkuk as refugees and it is possible that some militants had come with them. But there have been sleeper cells in Kirkuk before, too. I’d also like to advise all Kurdish cities to stay vigilant because there are this kind of people everywhere. ISIS sleeper cells are in France and the US, too. There’re 600,000 refugees in Kirkuk and if a hundred of them alone want to carry out such acts, they could do so and cause disorder somewhere.

I’d reassure everyone that there is absolutely no threat to Kirkuk’s security. For more than two and a half years the security here has been very good here and it will remain so.

Rudaw: Are there any suicide bombers anywhere now in Kirkuk among the attacking militants?

Najmaldin Karim: Our forces have been deployed across the city with good force and arms. And I am sure if there is any terrorist left anywhere they will detain or kill him. I’ll only ask the people of Kirkuk to stay indoors and if they have weapons they should not take it to the street in the name of defense because we’ve enough security forces to handle this. People may be eager to do something, but it could lead to death or injuries with own security forces.

Rudaw: How about the Dubiz power station that was attacked?

Najmaldin Karim: Four militants tried to take control of the station. One of them blew himself up and the three others were killed. The station is now under Peshmerga control.