Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) Fifteen Islamic State extremists were killed and wounded on Sunday after an attempted attack on federal police and popular troops, al-Hashd al-Shaabi, at a region between Salahuddin and Kirkuk.The militants wounded two members of Imam al-Hussein brigade, a militia operating as part of al-Hashd al-Shaabi, after they attacked it at al-Fatha region on the borders of Salahuddin, according to Sabhan al-Jubouri, a senior al-Hashd leader in Kirkuk and chairman of Hawija council.
He said police and al-Hashd forces killed five militants and wounded ten others who fled away.
ISIS fighters have been in control over several regions in southwestern Kirkuk since the group proclaimed a self-styled ”Islamic Caliphate” in several Iraqi cities in 2014. Preparations are underway for a joint campaign by security and popular forces to retake those regions.