Islamic State health official killed in Kirkuk airstrike
IS militant’s dead body.
The strike targeted an IS location in al-Qadisiya neighborhood at central Hawija, killing the official and four other aides, the source told Alsumaria News.
Islamic State, which took over large areas of Iraq in 2014, is still holding areas in southwest Kirkuk, most notably the town of Hawija.
Iraqi government and popular forces, backed by a US-led international military coalition, are struggling to recapture Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city in a major operation launched in October 2016. IS has been losing ground and several of its senior commanders in the operation, but proved tough resistance in face of advancing forces.
Kirkuk and other cities held by IS are still awaiting similar campaigns to eliminate the extremist group. On Thursday, Ahmed al-Assadi, spokesperson of al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Units) said during a press conference that PMU leaderships had preferred to give priority to the liberation of Kirkuk’s Hawija, but it was the government’ s decision to start with the liberation of Mosul.
People in Hawija and other areas held by IS have reportedly suffered stinging shortages of livelihood and supplies, as well as from the group’s human rights abuses. Conflicts in IS-occupied areas have forced at least 160.000 people to flee those regions to refugee camps.