The governor of Kirkuk Province, Najmaldin Karim, called on Baghdad to launch a long-promised operation against Islamic State militants in Hawija. With the militants defeated in Mosul, many of them are now regrouping further south and posing a threat to Kirkuk. Sheikh Jaafar Mustafa, a senior commander of Peshmerga forces, reiterated the same warnings.
At least 151 were killed or found dead, and 13 others were wounded:
In Anbar province, smugglers abandoned 78 people in the desert after their truck broke down. At least 74 perished and four more are very ill. They were trying to escape ISIS/Daesh.
A mass grave containing 60 bodies, 44 of them belonging to former policemen, was discovered in Mosul. A blast at the Bab Sinjar market killed four civilians and wounded four others, including two policemen. Security forces killed a well-known militant.
In Sinjar, six mass graves containing a large number of suspected Yazidi victims were discovered.
Gunmen killed an army major and wounded his brother in Rashidiya.
An army officer was killed while trying to defuse a bomb in Hit.
An I.E.D. wounded four Peshmerga in Qara Tapa.
Security forces killed eight militants near the border with Syria.
Militants in Hawija executed an official who may have been related to Islamic State head Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
In Tal Afar, a militant doctor was executed and his family was detained.
