ISIS fighters attacked a pair of villages in northern Iraq today, aiming to find those responsible for the burning of a pair of ISIS flags in the area. The raid involved 30 vehicles.
When all was said and done, ISIS had captured 170 men from the two oft-contested villages, in Kirkuk Province, and had transported them to Hawijah, a city still under their control.
ISIS made a similar raid in Kirkuk Province in September, capturing 50 people who burned one of their checkpoints. They reportedly released some of them later, and they assured in today’s raids they will only keep those proven responsible for the flag burnings.
The targeted villages, Shajara and Gharib, have repeatedly changed hands over the past several months between ISIS, Iraqi government forces, and Kurdish fighters.
