Attacks, 'unjustified' arrests mar security in southern Kirkuk
Security forces continue to be targeted in rural areas of Iraq’s Kirkuk region as locals complain of "unjustified" arrests and yet another alleged Islamic State "mufti" has been caught amid scant reporting on the ground.
Arrests and attacks continued in early October in parts of Iraq’s oil-rich Kirkuk region amid conflicting reports about airstrikes and mass round-up operations.
An Oct. 5 attack allegedly by the Islamic State on Iraqi federal police in Hawija in the southwestern part of the region left four dead and three wounded, including an officer, the Iraqi Security Media Cell reported.
The mayor of the Zab subdistrict of Kirkuk’s Hawija district complained Oct. 4 to an Iraqi media outlet that the 51st Iraqi Army Brigade was conducting “unjustified” arrests on a daily basis of up to 40 people at a time despite a relatively stable security situation.
Though the individuals are usually released shortly afterward, he said, the arrests continue to undermine trust between the local population and the security forces.
