ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Security forces in Kirkuk launched a “preemptive attack” on a group of unidentified armed assailants who had plotted to attack government institutions in the multi-ethnic city, killing one assailant and wounding another, The New Region’s reporter said citing local officials, adding a third assailant has managed to flee the scene.

In the operation, three members of the security forces were wounded, the reporter added. 

“Earlier this morning, a joint force from the National Security Service, local police, and the Sulaimani-based counter-terrorism service conducted a preemptive operation in the Sekanian neighborhood, northern Kirkuk against a dangerous terrorist target,” a local police official has told Iraqi media. 

The Iraqi government has not yet published a statement with respect to the incident, but the army usually engages in similar clashes with remnants of the Islamic State (ISIS). 

There is also news swirling on social media platforms that the operation was against a group of drug traffickers. 

Kirkuk is a multi-ethnic city which is home to Kurds, Arabs, and Turkmen, as well as an Assyrian minority.

Despite the territorial defeat of ISIS, disputed territories between Erbil and Baghdad, including Kirkuk, have from time to time been a target of the extremist group who have hideouts in a security vacuum in those areas.

Wednesday’s incident comes amid growing operations of the Iraqi army against remnants of ISIS in areas they had once controlled, notably in the Anbar and Nineveh provinces. 

The Iraqi army has recently accelerated its attacks on ISIS hideouts and their remnants in the open terrains of Anbar province, killing dozens of militants and confiscating significant amounts of documents.

Iraqi forces killed 14 ISIS members last week alone, including leaders and suicide bombers, in an operation in the Anbar desert. The raid, conducted with high-level coordination and international support, involved airstrikes and an airborne operation, resulting in the destruction of weapons and hideouts.

On August 29, US Central Command (CENTCOM) and Iraqi Security Forces conducted a joint operation in Western Iraq targeting ISIS leaders. The raid, which took place in the early morning hours, resulted in the deaths of 15 ISIS members, who were heavily armed with weapons, grenades, and explosive belts. 

Despite ongoing efforts to eliminate ISIS, the group remains a significant threat to regional stability and security through its remnants.

ISIS controlled large swathes of territory in parts of Iraq and Syria following their rise in 2014. The group was declared territorially defeated in 2019. 

The group no longer controls any territory, but they are active in their hit-and-run operations, posing serious danger to security around the areas that they had once controlled.