13 police killed in suspected IS attack in northern Iraq

By QASSIM ABUL-ZAHRA
Associated Press

BAGHDAD (AP) — An Iraqi security official says suspected Islamic State militants have opened fire at a federal police checkpoint in northern Iraq’s Kirkuk province, sparking clashes that killed 13 police. The official said Sunday the overnight attack lasted for over an hour and also wounded five police. The militant group didn’t claim responsibility for the attack. But it has been targeting security forces in northern Iraq ever since IS was defeated there in 2017 by Iraqi forces with assistance from the U.S.-led coalition. Militants are known to be hiding in the region’s rugged mountains and the deserts of western Iraq.