Ali al-Husseini, a spokesperson of the Popular Mobilization Forces’ “northern axis”, said “large numbers of Federal Police and army forces arrived at the outskirts of Kirkuk over the past hours”, noting that “the purpose of those reinforcements is the launch of a wide-scale operation on the borders of Diyala, Salahuddin and Kirkuk to purge them of Daesh remnants”.

He said the offensives in Kirkuk will be “drastically different from previous ones”, urging to engage the PMF in the effort.

Last Thursday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered security operations in response to the recent kidnapping and execution of eight Iraqis by Daesh terrorist militants in Kirkuk.