As troops converge on Mosul, ISIS attacks other city as diversion
KIRKUK, Iraq -- Thursday, as many as 50 ISIS fighters attacked the city of Kirkuk -- as a diversion.
ISIS infiltrated Kirkuk overnight and laid siege to neighborhoods across the city.
The surprise attack started with suicide bombings before the extremists holed up inside buildings -- including a house under construction.
“We know there are between six to eight ISIS over there, inside that building,” said Commander Louay Mohammed.
On the streets below, there were bodies of dead ISIS extremists -- as well as local residents who couldn’t move for fear of being shot.
The SWAT team began firing tear gas cannisters -- throwing up a smoke screen before sending a team into the building.
But as they approached, they came under fire, and one of them was hit.
So one of the swat team was injured, they had to pull back, and now they’re trying to pin the ISIS gunmen down inside the building.
Commander Louay Mohammed is from Kirkuk and told us he’d fight ISIS until every last one of the extremists was dead.
What’s in their heads?
“Revenge,” he said, for the Mosul offensive.