Iraqi military forces kicked off a large-scale campaign targeting al-Qaeda and affiliated groups in south-western Kirkuk, the Dijlah military operations command said Monday (May 5th).
"About 4,000 soldiers with air support, accompanied by a combat armoured brigade, on Monday morning kicked off a large-scale military operation dubbed 'Fajr 1'," Dijlah operations commander Lt. Gen. Abdul Ameer al-Zaidi told Al-Shorfa.
The campaign, set to run for several days, is targeting "the hideouts and strongholds of al-Qaeda in south-western Kirkuk, in al-Riyadh, al-Hawijah up to Wadi Horan and surrounding desert areas", he said.
The operation was preceded by additional security measures which included the closure of the targeted area to prevent the gunmen from