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Iraqi Militia Launches Operation to Clear Remaining Daesh Pockets in Kirkuk

© AP Photo / Anmar KhalilIraqi Security forces and allied Popular Mobilization forces take combat positions during a military operation to regain control of Islamic State group held town of Besher outside the oil-rich city of Kirkuk (File)
Iraqi Security forces and allied Popular Mobilization forces take combat positions during a military operation to regain control of Islamic State group held town of Besher outside the oil-rich city of Kirkuk (File) - Sputnik International
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Iraqi militia said on its website on Wednesday it had launched a large-scale operation to clear the remaining cells of the Daesh* terrorist group in the northern province of Kirkuk.

"The 16th militia brigade started a large-scale military operation this morning to find the remaining Daesh militants, their shelters and weapons stores," the militia said.

READ MORE: Bombing Kills at Least 3 in Iraqi Kirkuk — Reports

The operation is conducted near the town of Rashad in the southwestern part of the province.

Iraqi security forces man a checkpoint in the northern city of Kirkuk (File) - Sputnik International
Daesh Still Poses Security Danger in Northern Iraq - Kirkuk Governor
The militia was formed in 2014 mainly from Shiite detachments to fight the Daesh and was later incorporated into the Iraqi Armed Forces.

In February, the governor of Kirkuk province, Rakan Jabouri, told Sputnik that Daesh militants were still posing a threat in the north of Iraq and had so-called "sleeper cells" in the province, attacking people at night and kidnapping them.

On the day of the Iraqi parliamentary elections on May 12, Daesh militants attacked a checkpoint in Kirkuk, killing six law enforcement officers.

*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist group banned in Russia

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