Kirkuk launches weekend security deployment

Shafaq News- Kirkuk

Kirkuk police deployed forces across the northern Iraqi city under a security plan to maintain order during the weekend, the provincial police command said on Friday.

The operation includes vehicle and foot patrols, surprise checkpoints to inspect vehicles and screen individuals, and increased security around places of worship, markets, and public spaces frequented by families.

Kirkuk, about 250 kilometers north of Baghdad, experienced five attacks between October 5 and 14, involving gunfire, roadside bombs, and attacks on surveillance systems. Iraqi forces responded with security operations and airstrikes against ISIS positions.

Iraqi parliament's Security and Defense Committee member Ahmed Dagher Al-Mousawi warned that repeated ISIS attacks in Kirkuk were a “serious security warning,” calling for a reassessment of security and intelligence plans and a review of military and security leadership.

Earlier today, the Iraqi National Security Service (INSS) announced that security forces had destroyed an unidentified drone and its munition in a controlled detonation. On November 5, specialist teams defused a missile found on an old drone in Sikanian, northern Kirkuk. Iraq’s Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) arrested a high-value ISIS suspect in Kirkuk on Wednesday under a judicial warrant.