ISIS kills Iraqi officer, injures two in ambush near Kirkuk village
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Islamic State members on Wednesday ambushed an Iraqi federal police vehicle in Kirkuk Province, killing a ranked officer and injuring two of his subordinates, a security source confirmed on Thursday.
The gunmen carried out the attack in broad daylight, marking the latest such incident believed to have been perpetrated by the Islamic State in the disputed province of Kirkuk.
The source told Kurdistan 24 that a number of armed members of the terrorist organization were laying in ambush outside the village of al-Riyadh and intercepted a car carrying a police captain and two of his deputies, killing the senior officer and wounding the others.
The number of attackers was not immediately known, and they are believed to have retreated to one of their hideouts in locations the terrorist group still control, notably amid the rugged mountainous terrain of the area.
In efforts to clear out the group’s network of hideouts, Iraqi Special Forces backed by international US-led coalition on April 11 began shelling Mount Hamrin, killing an Islamic State commander and four other members of the organization.
Despite such concerted efforts, the Islamic State remains active and carries out regular attacks in surrounding areas, especially in villages and out-of-the-way territory where security forces have difficulty monitoring the terrorists’ movements.
Editing by Nadia Riva