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Late on December 21, two Iraqi service members were killed and three others were wounded as a result of an attack by ISIS cells in the northern Iraqi province of Kirkuk.
The attack targeted a post of the Iraqi military’s 14th Division near the village of Butk, some 45 kilometers to the northwest of Kirkuk city. The terrorists targeted the post with machine guns, then ambushed a patrol that attempted to support its personnel.
One of the service members killed in the terrorist attack was reportedly the intelligence officer of the 14th Division’s 3rd Regiments.
ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement that was released by its official news agency, Amaq, on December 22. The terrorist group said that a Humvee armored vehicle was destroyed an another was damaged in the course of the attack.
In response to the attack, the Iraqi military deployed a large force near Butk and launched an operation to hunt down the perpetrators.
This was the second attack by ISIS cells on government forces in Kirkuk in less than a week. On December 17, at least nine officers of the Iraqi Federal Police were killed and two others were wounded when their convoy was ambushed by terrorists near Kirkuk city.
ISIS maintains a fairly large presence in Kirkuk, especially along the administrative border with the Kurdistan Region. A territorial dispute between the Iraqi federal government the regional government in Kurdistan have left most of the border area unguarded. This serious security issue is yet to be solved.
No news. Muslims kill Muslims every day.
FIVE IRAQI MUSLIM KILLED OR WOUNDED IN NEW ATTACK BY ISIS MUSLIM IN KIRKUK