ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — ISIS militants bombed with mortars the Kurdish-run town of Qaratapa. The bombing resulted in the death of two civilians and local officials fear further attacks.
Wahab Ahmed, councilor of the town of Qaratapa, told Rudaw that ISIS militants from the village of Jibura which lies close to the Hamrin lake fired some mortar shells on Qaratapa, killing two women.
Qaratapa is just north of Lake Hamrin and about 120 kilometers southeast of Kirkuk city.
“The number of ISIS militants in this area is large and they control the Hawija-Hamrin line and therefore move freely,” he said, also adding that the fatalities are Arabs.
Major Smko Ali, head of Asayesh in the town of Koks, told Rudaw that they have information there are some ISIS militants by Sirwan River near the village of Islah which belongs to the town of Gulala.
The militants have apparently hidden themselves in the dense farms there. And they fired on, and injured an Iraqi army colonel.
According to information given to Rudaw, ISIS has sent many militants to the area around the province of Diyala and want to attack Gulala, Qaratapa and Sahdia.
Qaratapa is a multiethnic town with a population of 43,000. Most of the administrative units in the town are run by Kurds.
As ISIS loses its urban stronghold of Mosul, officials have expressed concern over ISIS movements out of Nineveh province, through the Hamrin mountains and into northern Diyala and Salahaddin provinces.
Kirkuk Security forces arrested 39 people on charges of terrorism after a large predawn operation on Friday that involved nearly 3,000 officers from various security forces.
.webp&w=3840&q=75)
