Battle of Kirkuk (2016)
Kurdistan Region Ministry of Interior Military of ISIL Major insurgent attacks Foreign interventions IS genocide of minorities IS war crimes Timeline The Battle of Kirkuk took place in the city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq between Kurdistan and allies and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.[3] By the next day, ISIL forces still held parts of the Aruba District and a hotel,[8] though these were retaken later on.Government forces then began a mop-up operation to clear the city of remaining militants, with some of the latter blowing themselves as they were cornered.[2] On 24 October, the last ISIL fighters in Kirkuk were killed, including the raid commander Abu Qudama, a senior ISIL military figure of Hawija,[6] so that the governor of Kirkuk, Nadschmeddin Karim, could declare the city completely cleared of militants.[2] On the next day, security forces arrested Nizar Mahmud Abdul Ghani, a cousin of former President of Iraq Saddam Hussein, for having participated in the Kirkuk raid.