Iraqi PM vows to fix Kirkuk security issues after gruesome Islamic State attack
Following an Islamic State attack in which over a dozen Iraqi policemen were killed, the prime minister criticized military leaders’ “shortcomings” and pledged to address the issue. Meanwhile, counterterrorism operations continue in the same disputed province to prevent further attacks.
BAGHDAD — Gruesome photos circulated of the bodies of the 13 policemen killed in a Sept. 5 attack in the southwestern part of Iraq’s oil-rich Kirkuk province, disputed between the central government and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI).
The policemen killed were said to have fought off Sunday’s attack, which occurred in the Rashad area in the southwestern part of the Kirkuk province not far from Hawija, for two hours but had reportedly run out of ammunition.
Some, reportedly, had been beheaded. The Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility the following day.
A video shared by some of the policemen’s colleagues marks a sharp departure from previous years, such as during the 2017 Battle for Mosul, when journalists including this Al-Monitor correspondent were prevented from taking photos of the corpses of Iraqi security forces but were strongly encouraged to take as many photos as possible of IS fighters’ dead bodies.
