Two Islamic State terrorists arrested after attacking security checkpoint in Kirkuk

Police forces arrested on Tuesday two members of the Islamic State militant group in the oil-rich province of Kirkuk, the Interior Ministry said.

The pair launched an attack on a security checkpoint in al Rashad district in Baghdad last week, leaving two policemen dead and three others wounded, the ministry said in a press statement.

They confessed belonging to the Islamic State militant group. They also led the police to an underground tunnel that was used by IS militants.

Kirkuk officials previously urged reinforcing military troops in the south and west of the province, as the region still has Islamic State members who escaped during liberation of Hawija to remote areas.

In October 2017, former prime minister Haider al-Abadi declared that Iraqi troops recaptured Hawija, a main town held by Islamic State in the country. Iraqi forces, backed by a U.S.-led coalition and paramilitary troops, have been fighting since October 2016 to retake territories Islamic State occupied in 2014.

Source: Iraqi News