Acting district commissioner of Daquq, 44 km south of the multi-ethnic province of Kirkuk, has expressed concern over the targeting of civilians in the center of the district, following a series of attacks late on Saturday August 24, which left 6 civilians dead and 10 others injured.
Louis Sheikh Fandi suggested that security forces should be pulled out to surrounding areas, previously used by the Kurdish Peshmarga forces to confront Islamic State (IS) attacks.
“People experienced terrible moments of fear and anxiety on the night of the attack,” he told KirkukNow.
Louis Sheikh Fandi said they have asked security forces “to set up checkpoints in Rokhana area south of Zain al-Abidin village, which is a vast area where IS militants are active.”
Daquq acting district commissioner expressed deep concern that the “IS attacks” targeted civilians in the center of the district, and urged for further coordination with Iraqi security forces.
“Terrorists must not be given the opportunity to target civilians,” he added.
According to Sheikh Fandi, “the best solution is to redeploy the security forces to positions held by Kurdish Peshmarga until October 16, 2017 and use them to control the security situation in Daquq.”
The district was a frontline during the war against the Islamic State (IS) group. After the withdrawal of the Kurdish Peshmarga forces, security responsibilities fell in the hands of Iraqi federal forces.
