At Least 12 Police Officers Killed in Iraq, ISIS Blamed

At least 12 police officers in northern Iraq were killed in an attack on a security checkpoint. The attack early on Sunday morning took place south of the city of Kirkuk, Al Jazeera reported. The attack included a shootout with police, during which three of the officers were killed, and then a roadside bomb detonated on the road where police reinforcements were traveling. At least one officer remains missing, according to the report.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack in its immediate aftermath, but the Islamic State remains active in the area, according to Al Jazeera, which reported that an unnamed security source said that it was responsible. Islamic State sleeper cells remain active in the north of Iraq, even after the Iraqi government declared in 2017 that ISIS had been defeated.