Iraq’s PMF foils ISIS bombing attempt in Kirkuk

Shafaq News/ Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) “successfully” thwarted an ISIS bombing attempt targeting civilians and security forces in southwest Kirkuk.

The group stated on Sunday that explosives experts from the PMF's 15th Brigade, under the North and East Tigris Operations Command, located and neutralized an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by ISIS militants in Humairah al-Kubra village, Al-Rashad district.

“The bomb was successfully dismantled without any casualties or material damage.”

On Friday, a joint security force successfully located and neutralized an ISIS-rigged vehicle packed with explosives in Iraq’s western Al-Anbar province.

Notably, in 2024, Iraqi forces intensified their operations against ISIS, resulting in the arrest and killing of dozens, including prominent leaders.

Despite its territorial defeat in 2017, ISIS maintains a significant presence in Iraq, particularly in the Triangle of Death (Kirkuk, Saladin, and Diyala), through sleeper cells that engage in guerrilla warfare, assassinations, kidnappings, and extortion to destabilize the region.