Iraq forces in fierce Kirkuk clashes with IS

Security forces battled for a second day yesterday with Islamic State group gunmen who infiltrated Kirkuk in a brazen raid that rattled Iraq as it ramped up an offensive to retake Mosu, reports AFP from Kirkuk. A toxic cloud released by a fire IS militants set off at a sulphur plant south of Mosul earlier this week killed at least two civilians and forced some US service members to wear masks.
A day after the shock attack on the Kurdish-controlled city of Kirkuk, jihadist snipers and suspected suicide bombers were still at large, prompting Baghdad to send reinforcements.
Special counter-terrorism and intelligence units were hunting down some of the dozens of IS fighters who stormed public buildings in the early hours of Friday.
“We have 46 dead and 133 wounded, most of them members of the security services, as result of the clashes with Daesh (IS),” an interior ministry brigadier general told AFP.
The toll was confirmed by a source at the Kirkuk health directorate, which called for blood donations to assist with the emergency. The Kirkuk police chief said 48 jihadist attackers had been killed so far and several others wounded, including a Libyan believed to be among the raid’s leaders.
“The security forces control the situation now but there are still pockets of jihadists in some southern and eastern neighbourhoods,” Brigadier General Khattab Omar Aref told AFP. The large-scale “inghimasi” attack, a term describing jihadist operations in which gunmen, often wearing suicide vests, intend to sow chaos and fight to the death rather than achieve any military goal, caught Kirkuk off guard.
The large city, which lies in an oil-producing region around 240 kilometres (150 miles) north of Baghdad, woke up on Friday to find jihadists roaming the streets of several neighbourhoods. They used mosque loudspeakers to broadcast praise of their self-proclaimed “caliphate”, which has been shrinking steadily since last year and is looking closer than ever to collapse.

Iraq forces in fierce Kirkuk clashes with IS

Security forces battled for a second day yesterday with Islamic State group gunmen who infiltrated Kirkuk in a brazen raid that rattled Iraq as it ramped up an offensive to retake Mosu, reports AFP from Kirkuk. A toxic cloud released by a fire IS militants set off at a sulphur plant south of Mosul earlier this week killed at least two civilians and forced some US service members to wear masks. A day after the shock attack on the Kurdish-controlled city of Kirkuk, jihadist snipers and suspected suicide bombers were still at large, prompting Baghdad to send reinforcements. Special counter-terrorism and intelligence units were hunting down some of the dozens of IS fighters who stormed public buildings in the early hours of Friday. We have 46 dead and 133 wounded, most of them members of the security services, as result of the clashes with Daesh (IS), an interior ministry brigadier general told AFP. The toll was confirmed by a source at the Kirkuk health directorate, which called for blood donations to assist with the emergency. The Kirkuk police chief said 48 jihadist attackers had been killed so far and several others wounded, including a Libyan believed to be among the raids leaders. The security forces control the situation now but there are still pockets of jihadists in some southern and eastern neighbourhoods, Brigadier General Khattab Omar Aref told AFP. The large-scale inghimasi attack, a term describing jihadist operations in which gunmen, often wearing suicide vests, intend to sow chaos and fight to the death rather than achieve any military goal, caught Kirkuk off guard. The large city, which lies in an oil-producing region around 240 kilometres (150 miles) north of Baghdad, woke up on Friday to find jihadists roaming the streets of several neighbourhoods. They used mosque loudspeakers to broadcast praise of their self-proclaimed caliphate, which has been shrinking steadily since last year and is looking closer than ever to collapse.