Iraqi security forces ISF declared Kirkuk commander of sniper detachment of the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant ISIL was killed in an ambush on November 12th.
Yassin Mulla Shakur, nicknamed "Abu Qatada", in charge of ISIS sniper detachment in Kirkuk Northern Province was killed in an ambush by ISF in an ambush set by the Iraqi army in the Wadi al-Shay area within the borders of Daquq district, south of Kirkuk governorate, according to a statement by the Iraqi Ministry of Defense.
Abu Qatada was the brother of "Abu Obaida", security commander of ISIL in Daquq district, 44 km south of Kirkuk. Abu Oubaida was killed in 2017 by an air strike of international coalition against ISIL.
"Based on accurate intelligence information, the Iraqi army forces managed to terminate the commander of Daesh sniper detachment and two other militants were wounded, in a tight ambush in the Albu-Muhammad area in the Wadi al-Shay area of Kirkuk province,” a statement by Iraqi Ministry of Defense.
According to the intelligence information declared to KirkukNow, "Abu Qatada" was from the village of Al-Khasha in Daquq.
Sleeper cells and resistant pockets of ISIS militants are regrouping in the rural areas of the disputed territories between Baghdad and Erbil. They are targeting Iraqi forces and civilians in the suburbs of Diyla, Kirkuk Ninawa, Salahaddin and Erbil.
The persistence of ISIS threats comes despite the fact that the former Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced in late 2017, the complete elimination of ISIS in Iraq, after nearly three years of military confrontations.
Kirkuk, September 11th 2021: one of the hideouts of ISIS militants in Al-Rashad area. Federal Police media
A source in Kirkuk's intelligence stressed that "Abu Qatada was involved in targeting the Iraqi security forces, especially “through sniper weapons."
On October 28, a security source said ISIL militants attacked an Iraqi army force in the borders of Daquq district, using sniper weapons, which resulted in the death of a soldier in the 45th Brigade. The same night the Federal Police were targeted and a police officer was killed.
Lieutenant-General Ali Al-Fraiji, commander of the advanced headquarters of the Joint Operations Command in Kirkuk, announced in a statement published early hours of November 12th that their forces “managed to terminate the commander of the ISIL sniper detachment Abu Qatada" in an ambush in Kirkuk and another militant was wounded.”
The body of "Abu Qatada" fell into the hands of the Iraqi security forces and was identified according to the intelligence service, yet Kirkuk Now found it improper to post photos of the body.
Video: Kirkuk security forces launch an operation south of Daquq district. Security Forces media
On the day following the killing of "Abu Qatada" (November 13), the commander of the joint operations in Kirkuk honored the detachment that managed to kill "Abu Qatada" in an ambush.
The Iraqi security forces said two other militants of ISIL were killed in a military operation in Lake Rokhana in Daquq district.
"One of the ISIS militants was killed in the attack, while the other was wearing an explosive belt and blew himself up after besieging him yet their identities have not been identified yet," a security source anonymously told KirkukNow.
The figures about Daesh attacks by the ministry of Peshmerga MOP under the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government KRG show they have carried out 2412 attacks in the last four years since 2018.
Lieutenant general Jabar Yawar, secretary general of the MOP, told voice of America VOA Kurdish service on Thursday, "We have not agreed with Baghdad when it has declared end of Daesh in 2017 since it has led 2412 attacks up to last October. About 1742 attacks were carried out in 2018, 270 in 2019, 230 in 2020, 170 in 2021 up to end of October."
The Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abbadi has declared defeat and end of Daesh in Iraq in 2017 when Iraqi forces regained control over the war-ravaged Mosul, the stronghold of ISIS for three years.
