Battle of Kirkuk (2016)
Part of the War in Iraq (2013–2017)

Location within Iraq
Date21–24 October 2016[1]
(3 days)
Location
Kirkuk, Kirkuk Governorate, Iraq
Result

Peshmerga victory

  • ISIL captured more than 4 buildings
  • Security forces recaptured all buildings; most ISIL militants killed
Belligerents

 Iraq

PKK[2]
CJTF-OIR

  Islamic State
Commanders and leaders
Kurdistan Region Brig. Simko Rabati[3]
(Kirkuk security commander)
Kurdistan Region Idris Rafaat[3]
(Kirkuk security official)
Kurdistan Region Brig. Gen. Sarhad Qadir[3]
(suburban police chief)
Kurdistan Region Polad Talabani[4]
(Peshmerga Counterterrorism Group commander)
Kurdistan Region Lahur Talabany[4]
(head of Zanyari)[5]		 Islamic State Abu Islam (POW)[4]
(operations leader)[1]
Islamic State Abu Qudama †[6]
(Kirkuk raid commander)
Islamic State Nizar Mahmud Abdul Ghani (POW)[7]
Units involved

 Iraqi Kurdistan

Ministry of Interior

Kirkuk civilian vigilantes[8]

Islamic State Military of ISIL

Strength
Unknown 100 militants[1]
Casualties and losses
76 killed[4] 84 killed[4] and several captured[1]
21 civilians killed, 265+ security forces members and civilians wounded overall[4]

The Battle of Kirkuk was a battle in the city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq between Iraqi Kurdistan and allies and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.[2] The battle occurred less than a week after the beginning of the Battle of Mosul launched by Iraqi security forces and allies.

The battle

On 21 October 2016, dozens of ISIL militants and suicide bombers, supported by local sleeper cells,[1] entered Kirkuk and stormed a power station and police stations in the city, killing 18 members of security forces and power station workers, including 2–5[10] Iranian workers. The ISIL militants captured a mosque and an abandoned hotel and barricaded themselves inside.[11] Hours later, ISIL captured 2 more hotels and holed themselves in. Over 20 ISIL militants were killed,[10] as security forces recaptured most of the buildings.[3]

By the next day, ISIL forces still held parts of the Aruba District and a hotel,[8] though these were retaken later on. Government forces then began a mop-up operation to clear the city of remaining militants, with some of the latter blowing themselves as they were cornered.[12] Many local civilians had also taken up arms, hunting, capturing and killing ISIL fighters.[8]

On 23 October, several remaining ISIL attackers attempted to flee the city, with five being killed[13] and the ISIL operations leader captured by security forces.[1] On 24 October, the last ISIL fighters in Kirkuk were killed, including the raid commander Abu Qudama, a senior ISIL military figure of Hawija,[6] so that the governor of Kirkuk, Nadschmeddin Karim, could declare the city completely cleared of militants.[1] On the next day, security forces arrested Nizar Mahmud Abdul Ghani, a cousin of former President of Iraq Saddam Hussein, for having participated in the Kirkuk raid.[7]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "IRAQI FORCES KILL 74 ISIS FIGHTERS IN KIRKUK, ENDING THREE-DAY ASSAULT". Newsweek. 24 October 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Clashes between Kurdish forces and ISIS in south Kirkuk". ANF News. ANF News. Archived from the original on 2020-11-08. Retrieved 2021-02-13.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "LIVE UPDATES: ISIS attacks Kirkuk". Rudaw. 22 October 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Michael R. Gordon (29 October 2016). "Seeking Clues to ISIS Strategy in Corpses and Cellphones Left in Kirkuk". The New York Times.
  5. ↑ "Lahur Talabani". The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
  6. 1 2 3 "Islamic State militants behind Kirkuk attack arrested, ringleader killed". ARA News. 25 October 2016. Archived from the original on 26 September 2017. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Saddam's cousin arrested for participating in ISIS attack on Kirkuk". Iraqi News. 25 October 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 "ISIS attacks Kirkuk in attempt to delay Hawija operation, distract Mosul campaign". ARA News. 22 October 2016. Archived from the original on 26 September 2017. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  9. ↑ "Kirkuk raid offers glimpse of post-caliphate IS: Analysts".
  10. 1 2 "Peshmerga and security repel multiple IS attacks in Kirkuk". Kurdistan 24. 21 October 2016.
  11. ↑ "Islamic State attacks Kirkuk as Iraqi forces push on Mosul". Reuters. 21 October 2016.
  12. ↑ "Iraqi forces hunt IS militants in Kirkuk". SBS. 22 October 2016.
  13. ↑ "5 ISIS members killed while trying to flee south of Kirkuk". Iraqi News. 23 October 2016.

35°28′12″N 44°23′45″E / 35.4700°N 44.3958°E / 35.4700; 44.3958

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