11 Islamic State militants killed while trying to storm villages in Kirkuk

Baghdad (Iraqinews.com) – Eleven terrorists of the Islamic State group were killed while trying to storm two villages in southwestern Kirkuk, a security spokesman was quoted as saying.

“A joint force from Hawija police and the Tribal Mobilization Forces repelled an attack by Islamic State against Gharib and Hanaf villages in southwestern Kirkuk, managing to kill 11 attackers, including five suicide bombers,” Altaghier TV channel quoted Spokesman for the Iraqi Security Media Council Brig. Gen. Yehia Rasool as saying.

The clashes also left an Iraqi policeman and a member of the Tribal Mobilization Forces killed.

In October, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared that Iraqi troops recaptured Hawija, a main town held by Islamic State in the country.

The town had fallen to IS in June 2014, when the militant group seized control of much of northern and western Iraq and proclaimed the creation of a self-styled “caliphate”. There, Islamic State’s reign forced thousands to flee to refugee camps, while hundreds had been executed by the group for attempting to escape the area or contacting security forces.

Despite the group’s crushing defeat at its main havens across Iraq, Islamic State continues to launch sporadic attacks against troops with security reports warning that the militant group still poses a threat against stability in the country.