Diyala Governor loyal to ISIS extremist group was killed during clashes between the elements of the extremist group in Howeija district in the western side of Kirkuk, as Popular Mobilization Forces decided to fight against the extremist elements of ISIS on the borders between Syria and Iraq, saying that they could enter the Syrian territories.
Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau renewed his country’s support for the current fight against ISIS during his speech before NATO summit held in the Belgian capital of Brussels on Thursday, saying that they express their support for the Iraqi forces and Peshmerga units during their current struggle against the extremist militias. He praised the efforts they exerted to restore security and stability to the areas liberated from the grip of extremists.
Trudeau remained supremely vague about what exactly Canada intends to do about replacing its aging military equipment and adequately funding the Canadian Armed Forces. Instead he spoke of increasing a “footprint on the ground” in Iraq and engaging “as a positive actor” as a member of NATO. Trudeau acknowledged that the Canadian military has been “underfunded” for the last decade and talked about changing that reality.
In the same context, leading member of Popular Mobilization Forces Karim Al Nuri said that they launched the second phase of their military operation after their success to liberate Kairowan, saying that they turn to Beaaj district. He stressed that they will close the borders between Syria and Iraq to secure the surrounding areas of Anbar.
On the military side, Internal wrangles between Islamic State members in Kirkuk have left one senior area ruler dead, an official was quoted saying on Thursday as the province awaits liberation of IS havens.
Alsumaria News quoted Sadeq al-Husseini, chairman of the security committee at Kirkuk council, saying that the “mayor of Diyala”, who was temporarily appointed by supreme leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was killed with two other companions when members engaged in an infighting near the group’s stronghold town of Hawija, southwest of Kirkuk.
Husseini said the fight was a part of a series of recent disputes among IS leaderships in Hawija, adding that senior members have traded accusations of causing defeats and loss of members to security forces in Mutaibija, an area on the borders between Diyala and Salahuddin. Most of Islamic State’s so-called “Diyala Province” leaders have stationed in Hawija for the past two years after security forces took over the group’s havens there in early 2015.
On Tuesday, Alsumaria News quoted an official source in Kirkuk saying that IS had opened alternative headquarters for its so-called “Nineveh State”, “Dijlah State”, “Salahuddin State” and “Diyala State” in Hawija. He said senior leaders had entered the town in armored vehicles after having fled battles with security forces in Nineveh. The source added that IS militants cut a number of main roads and subjected them to a curfew. “Hawija has now become the group’s main haven, with members split between Hawija and Tal Afar an Baaj (west of Nineveh),” said the source.