710
Kirkuk
- On Wednesday, August 25th, the joint operation command announced the seizure of a truck loaded with Katiusha rockets ready to launch toward Erbil south of Dibis district of Kirkuk. Earlier on the same day, at least three rockets hit the village of Qushtapa sub-district in Erbil. A Peshmerga commander blamed the Iraqi forces for “negligence” and “lack of coordination with the Peshmerga forces.” Two nights before the attacks, Iraqi forces stationed near Dibis were also hit by rockets and later found a vehicle filled with explosives ready to launch a suicide attack, the bomb was later disabled by security forces. On Monday, August 23th the security forces seized 76 rockets near Rashad. ISIS (Da’esh) terrorists have initiated rocket attacks since early July of this year.
- The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) officially announced dismissing Ala Talabani as the party candidate in the upcoming parliamentary elections held on October 10, 2021. Previously, the PUK selected Ala Talabani as the head of the PUK joint list with the Change party (Gorran). In the 2018 election, Ala Talabani joined the National list outside the PUK party. Separately, In a statement, the Arab Project party announced that their election candidates should raise their rejection for the Peshmerga forces to return and join the Iraqi security forces. The party said it also demanded Arab candidates to work toward dissolving article 140 of the constitution, which calls for the normalization of Kirkuk after it suffered Arabization policy by the former regime.
- Several neighborhoods in Kirkuk protested the smell of gas spreading across the province for two weeks. Kirkuk’s administration said it had formed a committee to investigate the refineries in the city. A local environmental organization identified the gas as Hydrogen sulfide coming from small oil refineries since they are not following international standard filtration systems. Separately, after a 100% rise in flour prices, bakery owners protested, demanding the government distribute Kerosene for free to make up for their losses. Meanwhile, about 200 people protested delaying their hiring process in police ranks by the finance ministry. The Ministry of Interior hired 200 men in 2017, but they remain unemployed since the finance minister says they lack a hiring budget.
- The Kirkuk branch of Iraq’s National Security Agency shut down ten privately-owned Real Estate offices, trading lands, and houses owned and constructed illegally. According to the Ministry of Planning, Kirkuk is ranked as the third province for homes built illegally on government-owned land with Baghdad and Basra coming in first and second. Since October 16, 2017, Thousands of homes have been built illegally in Kirkuk.
- The Iraqi military conducted raids on Kurdish homes for three days in the Kurdistan neighborhood. According to local observers, the raids come as preparation to move the army headquarters near the neighborhood after evicting the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) building they occupied since October 16, 2017.
- In a joint press conference, the farmer’s union and the department of water sources warn of climate change in Kirkuk due to drought hitting the province this year. The farmers said the drought was caused by lack of rain and constant water cut off by Iran and Turkey, decreasing farming from one million to 800,000 donums.
Khanaqin
- The Khanaqin Human Rights organization announced that 4,230 Kurdish families had left Khanaqin and its villages since October 16, 2017. The organization said due to Da’esh attacks and the Arabization process, the Kurds were obligated to flee.
Tuz Khurmatu
- After four years since the October 16, 2017 events, which included the burning Kurdish homes and displacement of Kurds, the Iraqi government has yet to compensate the victims. Several non-governmental organizations in Tuz Khurmatu warned that the government must pay the people after four years of destroying their homes, denounced by both Human Rights Watch and the United Nations.
- During Friday prayers, several Imams warned about sectarian and hate speeches by some candidates in the town, warning the political, security, and the coexistence statues in the city is “not stable.” Last week, a controversial Shia-Turkman candidate named Niyaz Ma’amer Oglu attacked the Kurds during his speech. Ma’amer Oglu failed to be reelected in 2018 after he was a lawmaker for four years.
Makhmour
- Da’esh terrorists continue to impose threats in the area using the Qara Chokh mountain as a hideout. On Monday, August 23th, clashes occurred between Da’esh terrorists and members of the Iraqi army. No casualties were announced, but according to the Security Cell, Da’esh terrorists fled to Qara Chokh. Further, On Wednesday, August 25th, Da’esh terrorists freed a kidnapped man for ransom after 19 days of captivity. On August 7th, Da’esh terrorists kidnapped five civilians and so far has released three for 100,000USD each.
- After Turkish airstrikes on Shingal (Sinjar), the security forces have deployed across the town center, fearing attacks on Makhmur. The security forces prevented large gatherings as a preventive measure to mass casualty. Since 2017, Turkey has struck the Makhmour Refugee Camp, housing Kurds from Turkey on several occasions.
Shingal
- After two Turkish air strikes that killed several Sinjar Resistance Units (YPS) and civilians, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al Kadhimi. According to the Turkish presidency, Erdogan informed Kadhimi that the airstrikes targeted the YPS base, not a hospital, claims that Yazidi Kurds denounced. The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) condemned Turkey’s attacks on Shingal. The Iraqi commander west of Nineveh operations has denied returning members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to Shingal after Turkish claims. Erdogan is invited to attend the Baghdad Summit hosted by Iraq for the neighboring States.