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Kirkuk
- On Tuesday, a senior security delegation led by Lieutenant-General Abdul Amir Al-Shammari, Deputy Commander of Joint Operations, visited Kirkuk. The primary purpose of the visit was to evaluate the duties of the 19th division of the federal police stationed west of the province. The federal police have faced backlash, especially after a report revealed the sexual assault of a little girl in the Rashad district by two police officers.
- Several anti-genocide organizations stressed anger and rejected the Iraqi army’s decision to reestablish a military base on a massacre site in Tobzawa, south of Kirkuk. In 1988, the former Iraqi regime used the Tobzawa camp for 55,000 Kurdish detainees, who later were killed and buried alive in mass graves in the southern part of the country. Many Kirkuk-based human rights organizations accused the army’s plans of being a renewed move of the former regime. Since 2003, the Kurds have attempted to convert the site to a museum, but the bureaucracy and land ownership by the Defense Ministry have prevented such a plan.
- After arresting 74 young Kurdish men for celebrating the election results, the security forces in Kirkuk have yet to release nine on bail after accusing them of firing at the Iraqi army. The families of the detainees denied the accusation, and the 67 others who were arrested have been released pending investigation decisions. Kirkuk has been under Iraqi martial laws since October 16, 2017, when Iraqi military forces and Iranian-backed militias removed the Kurdish Peshmerga and administration after the Independence Referendum.
- On Monday, Iraqi jets struck four positions of ISIS (Da’esh) between the Rashad and Daquq districts. According to the Iraqi Security Cell, the airstrike killed seven Da’esh terrorists.
- The police arrested a mob of three individuals for smuggling and illegal trading in Kirkuk’s Aruba neighborhood. According to police, the three had previous warrants out for their arrest.
- Media outlets of both the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Democratic Party of Kurdistan (KDP) released different statements from party officials regarding the future agreement between the parties for allocation of the next governor of Kirkuk and President of Iraq. The presidency has been up to the PUK’s parliamentary share since 2005, but the election results of 2021 have allowed the KDP to gain twice as many seats as the PUK, positioning the party to be able to demand the presidency. Though no official negotiations have been announced, both parties have held a meeting in preparation for official talks.
- The Turkish-backed Turkmen Front released a statement calling for hand counts of all votes and the audit of the electronic fingerprinting. The Turkmen Front performed poorly in the election, winning only two seats, with one coming by way of quota woman seat, which remains disputed with an Iranian-backed candidate. This is one seat less than they were able to win in former elections. The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) has yet to finalize the winner between the Turkmen Front woman quota seat and the Iranian-backed candidate. Meanwhile, the “United Arab Front” was not able to win any seat, resulting in the departure of three of its leaders who are aiming to establish a new movement named “The Arab Opinion Association.” Moreover, the Iranian-backed Shia Turkmen, mainly Fateh bloc supporters, protested the elections’ results and shut down the main Kirkuk-Baghdad road for five hours. The protest came after the bloc announced its rejection of the results and called for protests. The election results stand as follows: the Kurds have six seats: PUK 3, KDP 2, and New Generation 1. The Arabs won four seats divided into an independent candidate and three parties: Progress, Arab Coalition, and the National Contract Alliance. The Turkmen won two seats, both from the Turkmen Front, and the Christian’s quota seat went to the Iranian-backed bloc of Babylonians.
- The smell of gas spreading across the province has renewed after two months of absence. Previously, the administration formed a committee and announced the smell was methane and lead caused by proper filtration. Activists suspect the smell is a result of illegal practices by refineries and blame the government for turning a blind eye.
Khanaqin
- Likewise, in Khanaqin, the Iranian-backed Shia group protested the election results after suffering a significant defeat. The protests held on Monday caused the shutdown of Diyala Khanaqin main road for hours.
- Iraq’s Interior Ministry announced the capture of two women beggars spying on security forces and reporting it to Da’esh terrorists. According to the statement, the detainees are from al Anbar province and have resided in Khanaqin since 2019.
Tuz Khurmatu
- On Sunday, October 17th, Da’esh terrorists attacked the Iraqi army in the Zanana area, injuring two soldiers after two hours of clashes. The is the first attack since last month’s joint Peshmerga-Iraqi forces patrol and searches in the region.
- The PUK’s branch in Tuz Khurmatu denied reports by election competitors that they had raised the flag of Kurdistan during victory celebrations. The PUK said it had only raised party flags, not Kurdistan flags. The PUK said that despite having a constitutional right to fly the Kurdistan flag, we chose not in order “to avoid tensions.”
Makhmour
- On Monday, October 18th, the Iraqi army’s plans to dispose of explosives and old weapons went wrong after several mortars got redirected to residential areas. The military launched investigations, but locals still faced fear and disturbance, mistaking it for Da’esh attacks.
- Da’esh terrorists freed a man they kidnapped for 300,000 US dollars. Since April, the terror group has kidnapped 13 people. Three remain in captivity, but the rest have been released on ransom. Most of the exchanges took place near the Qara Chokh mountain, Da’esh de facto headquarters.