Six people, three policemen and three teenagers, who went to put out a fire in a grain field were killed on Monday by Islamic State (IS) jihadists, a local official said.
A police car that then arrived at the scene of the attack, in Taza Hurmatou, was in turn targeted by gunfire and a bomb detonated as it passed by, Hussein Adel, an official in the area south of Kirkuk, told Agence France-Presse.
IS "set fire" to farmland, Adel explained. "When police and civilians went to put out the fire, they were attacked by IS elements, who killed three policemen and three teenagers," he added, explaining that another person - a civilian - was missing.
A source close to the security forces referred to an "attack committed by IS against farmers who were harvesting their crops."
Iraqi authorities declared their "victory" over IS in late 2017. But even after their military defeat, jihadists continue to commit deadly attacks in Iraq and in neighbouring Syria, in territories they have been ravaging for years.
In recent years, jihadists have set dozens of crops on fire in both countries. They claim responsibility for actions using this method through their presence on social media sites.
In 2019, more than 200 fires reduced to rubble some 50,000 acres of crops in the Iraqi north. Some were attributed to jihadists. Others were likely due to land disputes between landowners or tribes.
After three years of drought, with arable land halved, Iraqis are closely monitoring the grain harvest.
In Iraq, IS "retains the ability to launch attacks at a steady pace," acknowledged a UN report released in January.
"Taking advantage of the porous Iraq-Syria border," the jihadist group still has "6,000 to 10,000 fighters in these two countries, forming cells and training (new) members," according to the report."
Source: CNA
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