Status: 12/18/2022 12:59 p.m
First a bomb exploded, then shots were fired: several police officers were killed in an attack in northern Iraq. The federal police blamed the “Islamic State” for the attack.
At least eight police officers have been killed in an attack in Iraq. An explosive device exploded during a patrol in Kirkuk province and killed an officer in his vehicle, among other things, the state agency INA reported, citing army spokesman Jahia Rasul. Two police officers were seriously injured, officials told the Reuters news agency.
According to information from police circles, a bomb initially exploded near the police van, after which the security forces were directly attacked “with small arms”.
Iraqi police blame IS
A representative of the Iraqi federal police blamed the terrorist militia “Islamic State” (IS) for the attack on the AFP news agency. One attacker was killed and others are being sought, said the police representative.
The Iraqi Interior Ministry confirmed the attack. The IS has not yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
IS still carries out sporadic attacks
IS members continue to carry out sporadic attacks on security forces in Iraq, especially in sparsely populated desert or mountainous regions of the country – despite the fact that the central government declared victory over the jihadists as early as December 2017.
From 2014, the IS militia had proclaimed a so-called caliphate in large parts of Syria and Iraq. In Iraq, IS was defeated with the support of a US-led coalition of more than 80 countries. However, according to a UN report published in January 2022, IS is still capable of “performing attacks on a regular basis”.