Like Wesley in The Princess Bride, the Islamic State is just mostly dead, not dead dead. This was driven home by several recent attacks near Kirkuk, which was officially liberated from the Islamic State by Kurdish forces since 2014, and has been held by the regular Iraqi Army and Shia militias since 2017.
Islamic State (IS) extremists on Saturday launched an attack on an oil field in Kirkuk Province, killing at least two police officers.
A security source from Kirkuk said a group of IS militants attacked the Khabaza oil field in the disputed province, killing at least two police officers and wounding another one.
The security source added that police reinforcements were sent to the site of the attack but did not reveal whether any of the oil wells were also targeted by the militant group.
According to Iraq-based al-Ghad Press, the extremists attacked a post guarded by police at the Khabaza oil field’s number 43 well
The Islamic State is too fanatical to merely melt away quietly, and counterinsurgency operations are by their very nature grinding, long-running affairs, and I have no confidence that the Iraqi government and their pet Shia militias are up to the job absent additional U.S. assistance and guidance.
Tags: al-Hashd al-Shaabi, Foreign Policy, Iraq, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, Jihad, Kirkuk, Kurds, Military