Kirkuk officials deny displacing Arabs in anti-IS operation

Kirkuk province officials have denied a UN report that internally displaced Sunni Iraqis in the city of Kirkuk have been expelled after the recent attack by the Islamic State, though the governor warns, "They cannot stay here forever."
The blackened facade of a hotel in Kirkuk attacked by Islamic State operatives on Oct. 21 is seen from the street. - Shelly Kittleson
Shelly Kittleson.jpg
Shelly Kittleson
@shellykittleson
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KIRKUK, Iraq — Flags bearing Shiite slogans such as "Ya Hussein" flutter conspicuously every 20 meters or so on Kirkuk’s Republic Street, in a district filled with government buildings and the blackened facades of hotels attacked during an Oct. 21 assault by over 100 Islamic State (IS) operatives.

The attack left over 100 people dead. Security forces said on Oct. 30 that operations to root out sleeper cells were ongoing.

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