Brigadier Idris Rafaat, head of Kirkuk Asayesh, told Rudaw: “A group of ISIS militants attacked Abu Shahir in Yaychi district in Kirkuk on Monday, killing 10 people.”
There are currently no security forces in the area itself owing to the power vacuum left following the October 2017 events when Kurdish forces withdraw. The Kirkuk Asayesh now operates exclusively inside Kurdistan Region territory.
The militants have since left the area, according to Rafaat, suggesting this was a hit and run attack.
No group has claimed responsibility. However, ISIS remnants and sleeper cells are known to operate in the province, hiding out in the mountains.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared the defeat of ISIS in Iraq in December 2017. Although the group has lost all of its urban strongholds, its remnants have returned to insurgency tactics of kidnappings, murders, and targeted attacks on civilians and security forces.
This is a developing story…
