Kirkuk — Thirteen Iraqi policemen were killed in a Daesh aka ISIS attack on a checkpoint in Iraq’s north early on Sunday.
The overnight attack on a guard post near the city of Kirkuk also left four people wounded, police sources said on Sunday.
To the south of the city, the attack took place just after midnight, a senior Iraqi police officer said. Militants regularly target the Iraqi army and police in the area, but this attack was one of the ISIS group’s most deadly this year.
Police sources said the attackers clashed for two hours with police stationed at a village near the northern city of Kirkuk.
Militants used roadside bombs to prevent police reinforcements from reaching the post, destroying three police vehicles, police sources said.
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The Iraqi government declared the Sunni extremists defeated in late 2017, but their sleeper cells continue to hit security forces with asymmetric attacks.
Last Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron visited Iraqi Kurdistan and expressed concern about an ISIS “resurgence” in Iraq and Syria.
The OIC Secretariat General reaffirmed its firm position and condemned all forms of terrorism. It also stressed the need to support Iraq’s efforts in combating terrorism and violent extremism.
