Rural areas southwest of Kirkuk grapple with fears of IS sleeper cells
The Fatha road snakes behind the heavily damaged Beiji oil refinery, crossing between the low-altitude Hamreen and Makhoul mountain ranges into an area of okra fields and mullahs who fear Islamic State (IS) sleeper cells.
HAWIJA, Iraq — The area southwest of the Iraqi city of Kirkuk has seen several attacks and anti-Islamic State (IS) operations this month. Five foreign IS members, including two leaders, were reportedly killed in the Rashad subdistrict April 9, while "tunnels and guesthouses'' used by IS were destroyed April 10.
Two days later, IS injured four federal police officers in an attack in the same subdistrict and killed a "man in front of his family for cooperating with security forces," while destroying and burning down several homes for the same reason.
Weapons, supplies and fighters continue to be found in the nearby Hamreen Mountains. Officials estimate the number of fighters hiding in them anywhere from less than a hundred to several hundred.
Security officers in the area give similarly wide variations on the number of civilian returnees to Hawija and the surrounding area, which was liberated from IS in early October 2017.
