Iraqi PM vows to fix Kirkuk security issues after gruesome Islamic State attack

Following an Islamic State attack in which over a dozen Iraqi policemen were killed, the prime minister criticized military leaders’ “shortcomings” and pledged to address the issue. Meanwhile, counterterrorism operations continue in the same disputed province to prevent further attacks.
A flag of the Islamic State (IS) is seen on the other side of a bridge at the frontline of fighting between Kurdish peshmerga forces and Islamist militants in Rashad, on the road between Kirkuk and Tikrit, on Sept. 11, 2014.
A flag of the Islamic State (IS) is seen on the other side of a bridge at the frontline of fighting between Kurdish peshmerga forces and Islamist militants in Rashad, on the road between Kirkuk and Tikrit, on Sept. 11, 2014. - JM LOPEZ/AFP via Getty Images
Shelly Kittleson.jpg
Shelly Kittleson
@shellykittleson

BAGHDAD — Gruesome photos circulated of the bodies of the 13 policemen killed in a Sept. 5 attack in the southwestern part of Iraq’s oil-rich Kirkuk province, disputed between the central government and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI).

The policemen killed were said to have fought off Sunday’s attack, which occurred in the Rashad area in the southwestern part of the Kirkuk province not far from Hawija, for two hours but had reportedly run out of ammunition.

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