Iraqi police forces kill Islamic State’s security official in Kirkuk
An Iraqi solider waves the “V” victory sign following a great triumph over the Islamic State group
Kirkuk (Iraqinews.com) – Iraqi police forces killed on Tuesday a senior Islamic State (IS) leader during a security crackdown that was launched earlier in the day to eliminate dormant terrorist cells in the oil-rich province of Kirkuk.
Lt. Gen. Shaker Jawdat, the chief of the Federal Police, said that “the 20th brigade of the federal police managed to kill Fares Khales Saleh Al-Mafraji, the security official in the Islamic State’s so-called Kirkuk State, during a security operation in the Dibis district in Kirkuk.”
Earlier in the day, the Federal Police Command announced the capture of four members of Islamic State during a security campaign to eliminate IS gangs and maintain law on the outskirts of Kirkuk.
“The forces also destroyed three IS hideouts during the operation,” Alghad Press website quoted the as saying, adding that the operation will continue until purging the remaining areas from terrorism.
Iraq declared the collapse of Islamic State’s territorial influence earlier in November with the recapture of Rawa, a city on Anbar’s western borders with Syria, which was the group’s last bastion in Iraq.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, last December, declared final victory over Islamic State three years after the militant group captured about a third of Iraq’s territory.