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Kirkuk
- Kirkuk police announced the arrest of yet another group dealing drugs in Kirkuk consisting of eight members detained in two separate security ambushes. Since October 16th, 2017, drug dealers have been busted in Kirkuk weekly, as the province has become the main route for drug trafficking from Iran.
- On Wednesday, February 23rd, an off-duty Peshmerga named Akam Mohammed was kidnapped in front of his home in the al Nasr neighborhood. Hours after the incident, his family received a call from an unknown kidnapper, telling them that they would no longer see their son.
- A militant from the Iranian-backed militias attacked a Kurdish family and pulled a gun on them using slurs. The video went viral on social media, pressuring the security forces to arrest him. The militant is from Tuz Khurmatu and resides in Kirkuk.
- The Iraqi army is establishing three new military divisions: Northern, Central, and Southern. The Northern Division will be responsible for Kirkuk, Diyala, Saladin, and Nineveh Provinces. Their respective headquarters will be inside the K1 military base of Kirkuk. General Hussein al Mufriji will command the Northern Division, which will consist of five brigades, 38 officers, and 139 scouts. Kurdish officers have been excluded so far from this formation.
- On Wednesday, February 23rd, the Spokesperson for the Iraqi Military Forces, Yahya Rasoul, announced the death of five ISIS (Da’esh) members near Dibis district. Iraqi warplanes bombed the terrorists near Qoshqaya after hitting two Da’esh hideouts.
- Due to poor sewage systems, a 0.5-inch rainfall in Kirkuk led to flooding in several areas, including three neighborhoods in the city and Daquq distinct. The floods caused property damage.
- Turkish-backed Turkmen Front leader, Hassan Turan, said his party’s nominees must take the new government’s position on the Turkmen share. His remarks came in front of his supporters in Mosul, contradicting Shia Turkmen officials, backed by Iran. Turkey supports the Turkmen Front despite having some of the Shia members parts of it.
- A United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Daesh (UNATAD) visited Kirkuk’s Taza district last week to investigate Da’esh attacks using chemical substances in 2016.
- According to sources, the federal government will reimpose customs on goods from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). The customs were imposed on and off since October 16th, 2017, but Baghdad paused the process due to significant corruption and complaints by locals. The new decision comes after a visit by Iraq’s Agriculture Minister Mohammaed Karim to Kirkuk to “stop the smuggling of food,” but this decision will dramatically raise goods prices.
Khanaqin
- The security of the central court in Khanaqin prevented a peaceful protest by journalists against the conditions of free speech, forcing them to hold it in a place nearby. The journalists and activists demonstrate “violations” facing them and the deterioration of free speech and writing. Separately, a Diyala lawmaker named Salah al Timimi revealed that hundreds of caravans, worth 20 million dollars, went missing after returning the Internally Displaced People (IDP) to their homes. The lawmaker called for investigations and said only “30 caravans” remain in the IDP camp.
Tuz Khurmatu
- The National Security Department closed down all the privately owned gas stations in the town since they do not “obtain permits.” Gas smuggling has been a significant issue facing the provinces, and many armed groups and militias are involved.
Makhmour
- On Wednesday night, February 23th, Da’esh attacked a military base with RPGs near Soila village, killing two soldiers. The village is near Shergat-Mosul-Makhmour’s main route.
Shingal (Sinjar)
- On Monday, February 21st, the KRG’s office for Freeing Kidnapped Yazidis released an updated report of the Yazidis in the country and the missing ones since the Yazidi Genocide in 2014. The report said that 550,000 Yazidis Kurds were in Iraq in 2014, and 360,000 of those were displaced after the Yazidi Genocide. However, only 150,000 have returned to their homes. The report also stated that the terror group kidnaped 6,417 Yazidis, and only 3,552 have been freed. Moreover, Da’esh has destroyed 68 holy shrines of the Yazidis, and the authorities so far have found 82 mass graves for the victims of the Genocide. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, under the UN’s supervision, a joint expert team from Baghdad and Erbil cultivated six mass graves of the Yazidi Genocide near the Snuny subdistrict for DNA tests and identification of the victims.