Iraq continues push toward Mosul; Kirkuk fight lingers
BARTELLA, Iraq — The Iraqi army pushed into a town near the Islamic Stateheld city of Mosul on Saturday, a day after dozens of Islamic State militants stormed into the northern city of Kirkuk, setting off two days of clashes and killing at least 80 people, mostly security forces.
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, meanwhile, met with Iraq’s prime minister and commanders in Baghdad to discuss the offensive to retake Mosul, which the U.S. is supporting with airstrikes and advisers on the ground.
The Iraqi army said the 9th Division has pushed into the town of Hamdaniyah, also known as Qaraqosh and Bakhdida, and raised the flag over its government compound, but the troops were likely still facing resistance in and around the town. Similar past announcements have often proved premature.
The town is around 12 miles from Mosul. Iraqi forces launched a wide-scale offensive last week aimed at retaking Mosul, one of the country’s largest cities, which fell to the Islamic State in 2014.
Hamdaniyah is believed to be largely uninhabited. The Islamic State has heavily mined the approaches to Mosul, and Iraqi forces have had to contend with roadside bombs, snipers and suicide truck bombs as they move closer to the city.
The Islamic State said it foiled an attack on Hamdaniyah and seized vehicles and weapons left by retreating Shiite militiamen. The claim, by the extremist group’s Aamaq news agency, could not be confirmed.
Iraqi forces retook the town of Bartella, around 9 miles east of Mosul, last week but are still facing pockets of resistance.
In Kirkuk, some fighting continued a day after the Islamic State assault on the city, some 100 miles southeast of Mosul. The wave of attacks in and around Kirkuk appeared to be an attempt to divert attention from Mosul.
Brig. Gen. Khattab Omer of the Kirkuk police said at least 80 people were killed in the assault, mainly Kurdish security forces. Another 170 were wounded, he said, adding that a sundown curfew has been imposed on the city.
Omer said Kurdish security forces recovered the bodies of 56 militants who took part in the attack. The Kurds assumed control of Kirkuk in 2014, when the Iraqi army and police crumbled in the face of a lightning Islamic State advance across northern Iraq.
Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the Kirkuk assault was a terrorist attack and not a military breach.
“Nearly all the terrorists who entered Kirkuk have been eliminated, and we have full control, except for maybe one area where they are being flushed out,” he said after meeting with Carter.
As the assault on Kirkuk was underway, an airstrike hit a funeral procession in the town of Daquq to the south, killing 17 people and wounding another 50, said Daquq Mayor Amir Khodakram. He said that it was not clear who carried out the airstrike and that officials launched a probe.
The Russian Defense Ministry blamed the strike on the U.S.-led coalition, saying it had “all the signs of a war crime.” Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, the spokesman for the ministry, said two jets were involved in the raid and apparently mistook the procession for a gathering of militants.
The U.S. military in Baghdad could not immediately be reached for comment.