“On Wednesday morning a group of Daesh militants near Bashir attacked Hashd al-Shaabi,” Najat Hussein, member of the Turkmen Front in Kirkuk’s provincial council, told Rudaw.
Hussein hadn’t received reports of any fatalities, but said the fight continued for half an hour.
Bashir is one of the largest towns in the southwest of Kirkuk. It has approximately 4,000 residents. The majority of its residents are Shiite Turkmen.
It was controlled by ISIS in 2014 and liberated by Peshmerga forces in 2016.
Official Hashd al-Shaabi media announced on Tuesday that the group had killed “one of the most dangerous members” of ISIS southwest of Kirkuk. They identified the ISIS member as Rafi’ Mohammed Subh Hussein al-Jawali.
Locals in diverse Kirkuk have asked for additional security after a string of recent killings and kidnappings.
The Iraqi army found eight bodies on the Kirkuk-Baghdad road on Wednesday – six of them had been abducted by ISIS.
The bodies found in Saladin province were “decomposing and had been strapped with explosive vests," said General Mezher al-Azzawi, a commander of operations in the area, AFP reported.
Six of the men, apparently Iraqi police or Hashd al-Shaabi members, had appeared in an ISIS video released on Saturday. Militants threatened to kill the captives if Iraqi authorities did not release imprisoned Sunni women within three days.
Security in the area is under the authority of the Iraqi government.
The Iraqi prime minister addressed security concerns in this area and along the Kirkuk-Baghdad road in his weekly press conference on Tuesday.
There is a long history of security problems on the road, PM Haider al-Abadi noted, pointing out that it passes through mountainous and unpopulated areas.
“We have patrols on the road, but as you know terrorists have plans,” Abadi said, adding that “… we do have plans.”
He said they will review the number of forces present in the area, but did not detail the government’s plans further.
Kirkuk, a disputed or Kurdistani area, is claimed by both Erbil and Baghdad. The province was mostly under the control of Peshmerga forces prior to the events of October 16.
Kurdish leaders have called for the Peshmerga to return.
Updated at 7:49 pm
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