Iraq’s armed forces began a major operation called "Heroes of Iraq - Victory of Sovereignty" to clear remnants of the Islamic State in the northern province of Kirkuk at dawn Tuesday. The operation comes ahead of key talks with the United States later this month.
Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi visited the operation in its early hours and social media was later flooded with photos of him walking alongside the forces and members of a local family. He then discussed the operation during a regularly scheduled cabinet meeting in the capital.
