Islamic State kill police officer, 7 relatives in Kirkuk

Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) Islamic State militants killed a police officer and his family members after invading his home in northwestern Kirkuk, according to a security source.

Alsumaria News quoted the source saying that Islamic State members sneaked on the dawn of Friday into al-Maleh village in al-Dabas region  (50 Km northwest of Kirkuk), attacked a police officer’s house and killed him and seven of his family members.

Islamic State militants have held areas in southwestern Kirkuk since 2014, when they declared a “caliphate” rule on a third of Iraq and Syria. Since then, militants have executed hundreds of security agents and civilians collaborating with security troops, besides executing civilians attempting to flee the enclave.

Local tribal leaders and politicians from Kirkuk have mounted pressure on the Iraqi government to hasten with invading Hawija, the group’s largest stronghold in the southwest of the province, suggesting that its people were experiencing a humanitarian crisis under the group’s rule as the group continues to massacre civilians attempting to flee the town. The Iraqi government and military commanders have set Nineveh’s town of Tal Afar as the next target for operations against Islamic State holdouts.