ISIS launched several attacks south west of Kirkuk, one thwarted once it was monitored by night vision cameras, security sources said.
A number of IS militants were monitored southwest of Daquq Friday evening and the Iraqi troops bombed them immediately and back up troops joined, a security source anonymously told KirkukNow. No casualties reported.
Daquq southwest of Kirkuk is home for Kaka'i, or Yarsanism, a secretive monotheist spiritual religion though it has not been officially recognized in the Iraqi constitution. Their villages are a target for extremist Islamic militants whom persecuted them as they accuse them of being defectors.
There are 18 Kaka’i shrines across Iraq, seven of them located in Kirkuk province. Worshipping is mostly done solitary and secretly rather than in a group. The Kaka'is are based in northern and middle provinces of Sulaimaniyah, Kirkuk, Mosul and Diyalah.
Iraqi troops stopped an assault by IS militants in Mattayaj Kaka'I village. Clashes lasted for 40 minutes. A policeman was killed and another two were injured, the source added.
Iraqi troops confronted IS fighters in Al-Rashad south west of Kirkuk. No reports about the casualties.
Senior IS militants were killed in a campaign by Iraqi counter terrorism forces who swept the volatile area end of January in hunt for IS fighters and restore of stability.
The Oil rich city of Kirkuk is home Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen. Baghad and Erbil dispute over administration of the city despite outline map for the region under article 140 of iraqi constitution. Currently Iraqi local police provide security of the province supported by Iraqi army.
