A member of the Iraqi Kurdish security forces aims his weapon as he patrols a street in the southern Domiz neighborhood of Kirkuk on October 21, 2016, after jihadist gunmen attacked the city. Jihadists, some of them wearing suicide vests, attacked Kirkuk in an apparent effort to divert the thousands of troops and militiamen closing in on their Mosul stronghold. The assault, together with another further north, left at least 40 people dead and came as pro-government forces were making major gains on the fifth day of their advance on the last major urban centre held by the Islamic State group in Iraq. AFP
KIRKUK, Iraq — Security forces battled for a second day Saturday with Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) gunmen who infiltrated Kirkuk in a brazen raid that rattled Iraq as it ramped up an offensive to retake Mosul.
A toxic cloud released by a fire ISIS militants started at a sulphur plant south of Mosul earlier this week killed at least two civilians and forced some US service members to wear masks.
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A day after the shock attack on the Kurdish-controlled city of Kirkuk, jihadist snipers and suspected suicide bombers were still at large, prompting Baghdad to send reinforcements.
Special counter-terrorism and intelligence units were hunting down some of the dozens of ISIS fighters who stormed public buildings early on Friday.
“We have 46 dead and 133 wounded, most of them members of the security services, as result of the clashes with Daesh (ISIS),” an interior ministry brigadier general told AFP.
The toll was confirmed by a source at the Kirkuk health directorate, which called for blood donations to assist with the emergency.
The Kirkuk police chief said 48 jihadist attackers had been killed so far and several others wounded, including a Libyan believed to be among the raid’s leaders.
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“The security forces control the situation now but there are still pockets of jihadists in some southern and eastern neighborhoods,” Brigadier General Khattab Omar Aref told AFP.
The large-scale “inghimasi” attack, a term for jihadist operations in which gunmen, often wearing suicide vests, intend to sow chaos and fight to the death rather than achieve any military goal, caught Kirkuk off guard.
The large city, which lies in an oil-producing region around 240 kilometers (150 miles) north of Baghdad, woke up on Friday to find jihadists roaming the streets of several neighborhoods.
They used mosque loudspeakers to broadcast praise of their self-proclaimed “caliphate”, which has been shrinking steadily since last year and is looking closer than ever to collapse.
Distraction from Mosul
Abu Omar, a 40-year-old butcher, spent 24 hours locked up in his home with his wife, mother and three children.
“It felt as if this day lasted a year,” he said. “We could hear shooting and explosions all the time but we didn’t dare venture outside to see what was happening.”
Clashes broke in the countryside just east of Kirkuk between ISIS fighters fleeing the city and security forces, a senior regional security official said.
The attack, which is believed to have been carried out both by sleeper cells and militants who entered the city on Friday, was widely seen as an attempt by ISIS to draw attention away from their setbacks in the battle for Mosul.
On Saturday, Iraqi federal forces moved into Qaraqosh, which lies just east of Mosul and was Iraq’s largest Christian town before its population fled the jihadists in 2014, the joint operations command said.
Pentagon chief Ashton Carter arrived in Iraq Saturday to review the offensive, which his country and around 60 other nations support.
Mosul is the most populous city in the “caliphate” Baghdadi declared in June 2014, and the operation to recapture it is Iraq’s largest in years.
With 3,000 to 4,500 ISIS men facing tens of thousands of Iraqi forces backed by massive US-led air power, the outcome of the battle is in little doubt.
But jihadists have been launching dozens of suicide car bombs against advancing forces, inflicting casualties and slowing their progress.
On Saturday, Iraqi federal forces moved into Qaraqosh, which lies just east of Mosul and was Iraq’s largest Christian town before its population fled the jihadists in 2014, the joint operations command said.
Kurdish forces were also leading a major push northeast of Mosul, but complained that air support from the US-led coalition was insufficient and leaving them exposed.
Sulphur cloud
In his meetings in Baghdad on Saturday, the US defense secretary had been expected to attempt to convince the government to lift its opposition to the participation of Turkish forces, who have a base north of Mosul.
But Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi reiterated his rejection of Turkish participation in the offensive, saying that “this is something the Iraqis will handle”.
Launched on Monday, the offensive is still in its early stages and is likely to involve a siege before elite forces enter the city and engage in street fighting with die-hard jihadists.
A key concern is the presence in Mosul of up to 1.2 million civilians, who are trapped and unable to leave until forces move closer and safe corridors are opened.
The toxic cloud it released killed two civilians in the area, a senior interior ministry officer told AFP in Qayyarah, the main staging base south of Mosul.
According to residents contacted by AFP, living conditions are deteriorating daily, with some food supplies running low and ISIS paranoia of informants greater than ever.
Earlier this week, ISIS fighters set part of a sulphur plant south of Mosul ablaze.
The toxic cloud it released killed two civilians in the area, a senior interior ministry officer told AFP in Qayyarah, the main staging base south of Mosul.
Iraqi Kurdish security forces escort a suspected ISIS member who arrested the previous day during clashes in the southern suburbs of Kirkuk, on October 22, 2016. Security forces battled for a second day with ISIS gunmen who infiltrated Kirkuk in a brazen raid that rattled Iraq as it ramped up an offensive to retake Mosul. AFP
“Of course, this is affecting our planned progress,” he said.
The local health center said it had checked 500 people complaining of breathing problems.
Some US personnel at a nearby base wore protective masks Saturday after changing winds blew the cloud towards Qayyarah.
Iraqi officials said the fire at the Mishraq plant was extinguished later Saturday.
An Iraqi cameraman was killed by an ISIS sniper south of Mosul Saturday, a day after another TV journalist died of a sniper bullet to the chest during the Kirkuk clashes. CBB