ISIS executes 7 Kirkuk police trying to flee Hawija

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – ISIS has executed seven former Kirkuk police officers and a civilian who were recaptured in a failed bid to escape the extremist-held city of Hawija, a police official told Rudaw on Monday.

“After they attempted to flee Hawija, ISIS captured seven security personnel on Monday, executing all of them,” said Brigadier Sarhed Qadir, the Kirkuk province police chief, adding that a civilian was also executed.

Qadir said another five members of the Al-Jabour tribe were assassinated in areas of Abbasiyah, in southern Kirkuk province, but the identities of the gunmen was yet to be determined by Kurdish authorities.

The Al-Jabouri tribe is the largest Arab tribe in Iraq and is scattered throughout central and northern parts of the country. A portion of  the tribe settled in Hawija and Kirkuk in the 18th century.

Hawija city is the capital of the Hawija district of Kirkuk province, 48 km south of the city of Kirkuk. 

In early April, according to a Rudaw report, Peshmerga leaders informed the Iraqi government that any offensive on Hawija would need to be led by the Iraqi Army and the Shiite militias knonw collectively as the Hashd al-Shaabi.

A propaganda video released last month by ISIS, showing at least 18 caged Peshmerga on public display in Hawija, sparked outrage from the families of the victims and the Kurdish street.