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Kirkuk combat chronicle: turbans kidnap 2, 4 dead fighters found


ISIS militants storm health facility in Daquq, kidnap 2

[Rudaw] ISIS bandidos snuffies kidnapped two Kurdish men from a village in Daquq, south of Kirkuk on Thursday and stole medical equipment from a health centre, according to police.

An ambulance driver named Sabah Tahir and another man named Sherwan Mahmood were kidnapped, Daquq police said in a statement. Militants also raided a health centre in the village of Haftaghar, making off with medicines and equipment.

Police say they have launched an investigation into the incident.

Residents of Daquq have repeatedly called on Baghdad to secure the district from ISIS remnants operating in the area.

Kurds living in Daquq are abandoning their homes, fearing the resurgence of ISIS. Iraqi security forces are only present inside the cities and larger towns of southern and western Kirkuk,
... a thick stew of Arabs, Turkmen, Kurds, and probably Antarcticans, all of them mutually hostile most of the time...
leaving swathes of the countryside undefended.

"ISIS bandidos snuffies openly and especially during night time break into the village buying whatever they need at the shops and bazaars," one Haftaghar resident, who preferred to remain anonymous, told Rudaw. ISIS groups are also ambushing Iraqis on main roads, he added.

The Kurdish Peshmerga withdrew from the area in October 2017 following a takeover by Iraqi forces supported by Iran-backed Hashd al-Shaabi paramilitias. The resulting security gaps have allowed ISIS remnants to regroup and to move unrestricted.

Bodies of 3 Peshmerga, 1 civilian found in Hawija

[Rudaw] Four bodies were discovered in Hawija, Kirkuk province on Thursday, according to a statement from Hashd al-Shaabi forces in the area. ID cards found on their bodies suggest three of them were Peshmerga soldiers killed during the ISIS conflict.

Hashd al-Shaabi said its forces discovered the bodies of three Peshmerga and one Arab civilian from Dhi Ghar. They are currently trying to contact the families of the dear departed.

According to a handout picture of the ID cards found with the bodies, the Peshmerga solders’ names are Zeyad Hawez Rashid, Hoshang Abdulrehman Shahin, and Rajab Hassan Shahin. The Arab civilian has been named as Hussein Hadi.

No details were given as to when the men died or what condition their bodies were found in, except that they appear to have been held captive before their deaths.

Sixty-two Peshmerga are believed to have been taken captive or remain missing in action.

"Neither the Iraqi army nor Hashd al-Shaabi have contacted us, but we are following up on this news," Qaraman Kamal, deputy chief of staff of the Peshmerga, told Rudaw.

"Some of the Peshmerga during the ISIS conflict were killed and their bodies left behind at the battlefield and they are all registered as deaders by the Peshmerga Ministry.

"Another 44, who were taken captive, are registered as captives and we are in continued pursuit of their whereabouts," he added.

Hawija was retaken from ISIS in October 2017.
Posted by: trailing wife 2018-09-14
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=522933