Two Iraqi army officers killed after explosive device left by ISIS detonated

Iraqi security forces conduct a search for ISIS remnants. Photo: INA Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – An Iraqi Army brigadier general and a warrant officer were killed on Wednesday after an explosive device left behind by ISIS exploded in the northern province of Kirkuk. The Iraqi Ministry of Defense named the victims as Brigadier General Ahat Yasser Khudair Hussein, commander of the 11th Infantry Division’s Communications Command, and Warrant Officer Mutaz Shahid Abbas. The incident took place in Wadi Zghaitun (Zghaytun Valley), which is located between Rashad and Daquq, around 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Kirkuk. The officers were performing a thorough search and inspection at an Islamic State (ISIS) hideout a day after Iraqi Air Force F-16 fighter jets had targeted the bunker. The blast also injured two other soldiers, who were later evacuated for medical treatment. This incident marks the second major attack on Iraqi security forces in Kirkuk during October 2026, occurring just days after US forces completed their military withdrawal from Iraq on September 30. Last week, ISIS claimed responsibility for an attack targeting Iraqi police forces southwest of the city of Kirkuk, which killed one police officer and injured others. Prior to the international coalition’s withdrawal from the country, Iraqi security officials cautioned that ISIS still has sleeper cells across Iraq, despite its defeat and the collapse of its rule in 2017. The US withdrawal raised concerns about a potential security vacuum that could give ISIS an opportunity to regain its strength, as some officials warned that Iraqi forces would now be compelled to contain the organization without foreign military presence. In 2014, the terrorist group ISIS took control of large areas in Iraq and Syria before being defeated in 2017. Over five million Iraqis had to flee the governorates of Nineveh, Salah al-Din, parts of Kirkuk, Diyala, and Anbar because of ISIS control over these areas in 2014. Although Iraq declared in late 2017 that all of its regions were free of ISIS, the government continues to conduct security operations to hunt out any remaining members of the terrorist group.