Islamic State militants kidnapped 19 people in two separate events in Kirkuk province. Sixteen people, including a village leader, were taken in Riyadh district. The other three were abducted in Daquq. Five more people were kidnapped in Tuz Khormato, Salah ad Din province.
At least five people were killed, and 12 were wounded in recent violence:
Three people were killed and 12 were wounded when a booby-trapped vehicle exploded at a market in Tal Afar. Tal Afar is a majority Turkmen town.
Near Qayara, the body of a policeman who had been kidnapped was discovered bearing torture marks.
An airstrike killed a militant commander in Wadi Thalab.
Also, Mahma Khalil, mayor of Sinjar, held a press conference on Tuesday. He declared Sinjar (also known as Shingal) to be part of Iraqi Kurdistan and called on the federal government to implement Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution. Article 140 would reverse the Arabization of Kurdish territories conducted under Saddam Hussein and allow sufficiently Kurdish areas to then join the Kurdish autonomous region.
Sinjar is predominantly Yazidi. The Yazidi are considered Kurdish or related to the Kurds by many, but are also considered a separate ethnic group. The area was under Kurdish supervision until the 2014 invasion of the Islamic State militants. The mayor wants Shi’ite militias expelled from the area and the return of Kurdish Peshmerga as a security force.
