Iraqi police forces purged on Tuesday 14 villages in Kirkuk’s Hawija district from the so-called Islamic State militants.
Iraqi police forces purged on Tuesday 14 villages in Kirkuk’s Hawija district from the so-called Islamic State militants.
Iraqi website Baghdad News quoted federal police chief Raed Shawkat as announcing that 14 villages in Hawija have been completely liberated from ISIS remnants.
“The troops also seized a terrorist hotbed of Islamic State in northern Hawija, in addition to a tunnel filled with explosive charges,” Shawkat added.
ISIS militants had blown up an electricity pylon in Hawija district on Monday, causing power outage in the former ISIS bastion.
“A group of IS militants placed explosives under an electricity pylon in al-Siha village in Hawija, causing it to collapse,” a security source told Ayn Al Iraq News website. “The explosion left Hawija district in complete darkness,” the source added.
Last year, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared that Iraqi troops recaptured Hawija, a main town held by Islamic State in the country.
