Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Two security sources told Reuters that ISIS terrorists assaulted a federal police post near the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Monday, killing at least one Iraqi federal policeman and injuring four others.
The assailants used semi-automatic machine guns and sniper fire on the federal police unit stationed in Hawija, around 70 kilometers (43 miles) southwest of Kirkuk.
No one immediately claimed responsibility. However, security and army officials indicated ISIS militants, who are still active in the area, were responsible for the attack.
The raid is the first documented assault by ISIS terrorists on Iraqi security forces since US troops withdrew from the country on September 30, terminating the military operation in Iraq.
The United States led the international coalition that aided Iraqi forces in their war against terrorism, including measures to keep the extremist organization from reorganizing.
Washington said that it will continue to offer targeted training and intelligence assistance following the departure, but Iraqi forces would be fully responsible for the country’s security and the suppression of remnants of terrorist groups.
Despite the defeat of the terrorist group over a decade ago, Iraqi security officials told Reuters that the organization still has sleeper cells in the country.
The pullout of the US-led international coalition raised concerns that a security vacuum would allow the terrorist group to recover momentum, with some officials warning that Iraqi security forces would now have to hold the group without the coalition’s military presence.
