Iraq City of Kirkuk, Power Plant Stormed by IS Fighters

Islamic State fighters equipped with assault rifles and explosives attacked targets in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk early on Friday. The attack is possibly aimed at redirecting authorities’ attention for the battle to recapture IS-held Mosul.

More than 11 workers, two of them Iranians, were killed when IS militants captured a power plant north of Kirkuk and then blew themselves up.

Witnesses said in Kirkuk that several explosions rocked the city and gun battles were ongoing. The witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity as they were concerned for their safety. Most of the fighting was focused on a government complex in the city.

IS said its fighters were behind the assault, which the extremist group said was aimed at the Iraqi government. The statement was conveyed by the IS-run Aamaq news agency and could not immediately be confirmed.

Local Kurdish television channel Rudaw aired footage showing black smoke climbing over the city while prolonged bursts of automatic gunfire rang out. It cited Kirkuk Gov. Najmadin Karim as stating that the militants have not taken control of any government buildings.

Meanwhile, three IS suicide bombers stormed a power plant in Dibis, a town north of Kirkuk, and took 10 workers hostage, said Maj. Ahmed Kader Ali.

The assailants demanded to be taken to the Iranians who work at the plant. One of the workers brought them to the Iranians before fleeing. The militants then executed the Iranians and the other workers, and set off their explosive vests when police arrived.

Kirkuk is about 170 kilometers (100 miles) from the IS-held city of Mosul, where Iraqi troops have been engaged in a large-scale offensive since Monday.

The city is around 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad and southeast of Mosul. It is claimed by both Kurdish region and Iraq’s central government. It has long been a hotspot for conflict and has been the setting of several attacks by Islamic State militants.

Rudaw TV said later Friday that all IS fighters who participated in the attack on Kirkuk had been killed save for two who were secluded in a newly built hotel which was damaged in the attack.

There was no immediate word on fatalities among civilians or Kurdish troops in Kirkuk. Also, the TV report could not immediately be impartially verified.

A town where a Kurdish peshmerga base is located outside the city also came under fire early on Friday. Kemal Kerkuki, a senior commander of Kurdish peshmerga forces west of Kirkuk, said the base is now under control.

IS retains sleeper cells in Kirkuk and the surrounding villages, Kerkuki said. He added that a group of IS fighters attempted to attack a power station in Dibis village west of Kirkuk with light weapons and a suicide bomber.

IS also claimed an assault on the power station. It said that its fighters had attacked the facility and killed all security forces posted there.

Wolves in sheep’s clothing

Kerkuki said he believes the attackers gained access to Kirkuk masquerading as evacuated civilians. The city has taken in several thousands of displaced people from nearby provinces. This started when IS initially invaded broad stretches of northern and western Iraq in the summer of 2014.

“Many of (the displaced civilians), I’m sure they are working with ISIS,” Kerkuki said. “We arrested one recently and he confessed (he was part of a sleeper cell).”

Iraqi and Kurdish forces supported by U.S.-led coalition began a multi-pronged offensive this week to take back Mosul and neighboring areas from IS. The operation is the most extensive undertaken by the Iraqi military since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

Iraqi officials said they had progressed as far as the town of Bartella, 15 kilometers (9 miles) from Mosul’s borders, by Thursday.

 

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