Prominent IS leader, three others killed in shelling, southwest of Kirkuk

Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) Four Islamic State militants were killed as fighter jets shelled a vehicle booby-trapping workshop, southwest of Kirkuk, a local source said.

“Army jets shelled on Monday an IS location in al-Safra village, 45 KM southwest of Kirkuk, leaving four militants, including a prominent leader, killed” the source told AlSumaria News.

“The targeted location was used to booby-trap vehicles and manufacture of bombs,” the source, who preferred anonymity, added.

Kirkuk has a mixed population of Kurds, Turkmens and Arabs. The southern and western regions in the province have been under IS control since June 2014.

IS holds pivotal regions that link between each of Diyala, Salahuddin and Kirkuk, posing threats to the liberated regions.

Dozens of residents from Hawija and the regions in its vicinity escape to Kirkuk province on a daily basis. Despite the risky routes to the freed regions, the civilians prefer death to staying under IS control.

Iraqi authorities postponed an operation to liberate the town of Hawija last year, instead they moved onto Mosul, the group’s biggest bastion in Iraq. The Iraqi government is currently employing the largest portion of its military effort in Mosul, IS’s previously-proclaimed capital in Iraq where the group is reportedly cornered in a few square kilometers.