“We see them move around. They come and steal peoples’ chickens, turkeys and geese. But they don’t harm people,” a local told Rudaw on condition of anonymity.
The Kurdish villager lives near Daquq, south of Kirkuk city. He said people in the area are afraid that the dark days of living under ISIS might return. Iraqi forces have conducted operations against ISIS in the area, but local Kurds say it’s not enough.
“They (Iraqi forces) don’t respond to our needs well because the Peshmerga is no longer here,” he said, referring to the Kurdish force.
Peshmerga exited most disputed areas after the Iraqi army supported by Iran-backed Hashd al-Shaabi forces took control of Kirkuk and other disputed or Kurdistani areas on October 16.
Iraqi Army’s operations in southern and western Kirkuk have included only towns, thus giving ISIS a chance to regroup in villages.
Darbaz Najat, the head of PUK headquarters in Laylan, confirmed what the villager said about ISIS reappearing.
“They appear in small groups. They are in Rokhan pond during the day, and head to villages when night falls. They steal peoples’ belongings, but people are afraid to talk about this,” he said.
ISIS militants have reportedly reappeared recently in Haftagar, a grouping of villages belonging to Daquq. People of these areas have suffered from ISIS sudden attacks.
Darbaz said his close relatives who live in these villages told him they cannot sleep at night because, “The Iraqi army is some 10 kilometers away from them, and Peshmerga forces are not there to protect them.”
Before election campaigning started, there was a reported agreement between the Peshmerga and Iraqi forces for the Kurdish forces to return to Kirkuk. The KRG’s prime and Peshmerga ministries a have dismissed the reports.
The PUK official from Laylan said that ISIS militants spoke to people publicly in Friday prayer in one of the villages of Haftagar last week.
In the message, Laylan says that ISIS threatened to “punish” those who inform the Iraqi army of their presence.
Idris Haji is a PUK candidate from Daquq for the Iraqi parliament. He said ISIS militants have movements in the area, confirming that the Iraqi army is far from them and their number is small.
Iraqi Prime minister Haider al-Abadi publicly announced the defeat of ISIS in December 2017, but local Iraqi authorities have warned of a reemergence.
“We are aware of their movements. We know that they come and go. They even steal peoples’ items, but they cannot strike as before,” said Azad Jabar, the head of the security committee in the Kirkuk Provincial Council.
He claimed there was support from some Sunni Arabs for these militants.
He added: “When the Peshmerga were in this area, they had a very good role in the protection of peace and assuring peoples in general. ISIS doesn’t have the kind of force to pose a threat to the people of the area.”
Iraq has parliamentary elections set for May 12. Provincial elections are expected before the end of the year.
Of the two Kurdish parties holding the most seats in the 329-seat parliament, the KDP currently has 25 seats, while PUK has 21. KDP has said it will not run in an “occupied” area, as many KDP offices in the city have been taken over by Iraqi forces and Hashd. There is one minority quota seat guaranteed for the province that has previously been won by a Christian party.
Banners and posters promoting Kurdish candidates running in the Iraqi parliamentary elections in the disputed province of Kirkuk have been torn up or thrown into the gutter.
Kurdish parties are running for office under direct Iraqi rule for the first time since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Longtime PUK politician Barham Salih formed his own Coalition for Democracy and Justice (CDJ). It along with Gorran (Change Movement) and Komal [the Islamic Group] are running in the disputed territories as part of the Homeland (Nishtiman) List.
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