Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) Several Islamic State leaders, including deputy chief in charge of the militants affairs, were killed in southwestern Kirkuk, a local source was quoted saying.

Speaking to Baghdad Today on Monday, the source said, “several residents from Hawija, southwestern Kirkuk, attacked militants gathering inside a house in al-Askari district in the town.”

“The attack left four leaders, including deputy chief in charge of the militants affairs in Hawija,” the source, who preferred anonymity, added.

This came after millions of messages were airdropped by Iraqi jets over the past few days in Hawija, the source said. “Most of the residents in central Hawija remained away from IS gatherings, despite being forced to stay near.”

In related news, another local source told AlSumaria News that the militant group imposed partial curfew in the town after attacking house of the leader in charge of the group’s security affairs.

“IS imposed partial curfew in some of the eastern districts in Hawija in the wake of an attack by a hand grenade against house of the group’s security affairs chief, which left one of his sons wounded,” the source said.

“Attacks against houses of the group’s leaders and militants have been on the rise in Hawija and its vicinity,” the source, who asked to be anonymous, added.

Hawija and other neighboring regions, west of Kirkuk, have been held by IS since mid-2014, when the group emerged to proclaim an Islamic “caliphate” in Iraq and Syria. The group executed dozens of civilians and security members there, forcing thousands to flee homes.

On Saturday, further reinforcements from the Federal Police were sent from Baghdad to the town, as the military command declared last week, the end of operations in Tal Afar, the militants’ last haven west of Nineveh, and the approach of the launch of offensives for Hawija.





