Large Number of Militant Commanders Surrender in Central Iraq

The sources said that a large number of high-ranking ISIL commanders, including Chief of ISIL Police Mahmoud Khamis al-Fazlawi and Mohammad Aydan al-Asafi, the one in charge of ISIL Zakat Bureau in Huweija have surrendered themselves to the Pishmarga forces.

The sources further said that ISIL has executed Ibrahim al-Aziz, one of its own commanders, in the village of al-Khan in Huweija, after he tried to surrender himself to Pishmarga.

A local source was quoted as saying earlier today that several ISIL leaders, including deputy chief in charge of the militants’ affairs, were killed in Southwestern part of the Iraqi city of Kirkuk.

“Several residents from Huweija, Southwestern Kirkuk, attacked militants gathering inside a house in al-Askari district in the town,” the source said, Iraqi News reported.

 “The attack left four leaders, including deputy chief in charge of the militants affairs in Huweija,” the source, who preferred anonymity, added.

This came after millions of messages were airdropped by Iraqi jets over the past few days in Huweija, the source said. “Most of the residents in Central Huweija remained away from ISIL gatherings, despite being forced to stay near.”

In related news, another local source told Al-Sumaria News that the militant group imposed partial curfew in the town after attacking house of the leader in charge of the group’s security affairs.

 “ISIL imposed partial curfew in some of the eastern districts in Huweija in the wake of an attack by a hand grenade against house of the group’s security affairs chief, which left one of his sons wounded,” the source said.

 “Attacks against houses of the group’s leaders and militants have been on the rise in Huweija and its vicinity,” the source, who asked to be anonymous, added.

Huweija and other neighboring regions, west of Kirkuk, have been held by ISIL since mid-2014, when the group emerged to proclaim a rule in parts of Iraq and Syria. The group executed dozens of civilians and security members there, forcing thousands to flee homes.

On Saturday, further reinforcements from the Federal Police were sent from Baghdad to the town, as the military command declared last week, the end of operations in Tal Afar, the militants’ last haven west of Nineveh, and the approach of the launch of offensives for Huweija.