Alalam - Iraq

An armed group had set an ambush on Wednesday morning, targeting a vehicle carrying ISIS elements passing on a road between the town of al-Riyadh and Hawija, the source told Alsumaria News.

The extremist group imposed tight measures at the attack’s scene, said the source.

ISIS terrorists maintain control over several areas in southwest of Kirkuk since they took over several Iraqi cities in 2014 to proclaim a so-called “Islamic Caliphate”.

Those areas have seen an exchange of attacks between the group and security forces as the Iraqi government leads a wide-scale campaign to clear Iraqi cities from the ISIS terrorists since October.

An Interior Ministry official was quoted as saying on Tuesday that the battles with ISIS have left nearly 6000 militants on the ground, and Iraqi and US commanders participating in the battles had earlier put the number of militants killed in operations at nearly 4000.

The tensions in Kirkuk have forced thousands of people to flee homes at the province to refugee camps, with the Migration and Displacement Ministry putting the total of those who fled violence at ISIS-held regions since October at 137.000, iraqinews reported.

SA