The Iraqi army and Iranian-backed Hashd al-Shaabi Militiamen launched an operation on Saturday morning in South of the Kurdish province of Kirkuk to eliminate the remaining members of the Islamic State (IS) in the area.
The campaign comes after the extremist group has started to re-emerge in the liberated places, attacking both forces’ units, killing and kidnapping people in most cities in Iraq generally, and Kirkuk specifically.
They have launched their operation at dawn, a Kurdish source told Kurdistan 24.
“The aim of the operation is to eliminate the attackers and those who work with them, and to secure Tuz [Khurmatu],” Kurdistan 24 quoted the source. “It also aims to secure the road between Baghdad and Kirkuk.”
Despite the fact that the Iraqi PM Haider al-Abadi announced last December the defeat of the Islamic State throughout Iraq, the extremist group has recently regrouped and began activity in most areas of the country.