6 PMF fighters killed by Daesh in northern Iraq

Six fighters affiliated to the Popular Mobilisation Forces (Hashd AL-Shaabi) have been killed and 31 others have been wounded in an ambush by Daesh gunmen on the Mosul-Kirkuk road in northern Iraq, the country’s defence ministry reported yesterday.

“Daesh terrorists ambushed a group of Hashd fighters late Wednesday as they returned from patrol,” Kirkuk Police Captain, Hamed Al-Obeidi told Anadolu Agency.

The attack, Al-Obeidi added, had left six of the PMF fighters dead and dozens wounded.

A predominantly Shia fighting force, Iraq’s Hashd Al-Shaabi was drawn up in 2014 with the express purpose of fighting Daesh. In 2017, it was formally incorporated into the Iraqi army.

In late 2017, officials in Baghdad declared that Daesh’s military presence in Iraq had been all but destroyed. Nevertheless, the Iraqi army continues to carry out frequent operations against the group’s lingering presence in certain parts of the country.

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