Islamic State Holds Iraqi Village Hostage

The Islamic State (IS) terror group is holding a small Iraqi village hostage to launch attacks on nearby towns.

The village of Bashir is 25 kilometers south of the city of Kirkuk. The village is home to a minority group of Shiite Turkmen. IS has controlled the village since 2014.

Iraqi government officials say IS uses Bashir to launch deadly rocket attacks on nearby towns, including a chemical attack on the town of Taza Khurmatu earlier this month. Town officials reported three deaths and many injuries.

“The rockets spread a garlicky smell and caused nausea and vomiting,” said Soran Jalal, the civil defense head. He told VOA that investigators confirmed IS rockets carried mustard gas and came from Bashir.

Kurdish forces and the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a Shi’ite militia, are surrounding Bashir.

Kurdish Major General Westa Rasul said IS control over Bashir is a big threat. He said the village is close to the North Oil Company and a power plant that provides one third of Iraq’s electricity.

Recently, hundreds of protestors from Bashir blocked Iraq’s main highway. The protestors demanded removal of Islamic State fighters from Bashir.

Iraqi and Kurdish officials say they need air support from coalition forces to remove IS extremists from the village. It is difficult without air support because of numerous mines and explosives planted around the village.

No help from coalition forces

But a coalition of Western governments, including the U.S. and Britain, worry about helping the PMF. The militia group is close to Iran, which has had a troubled relationship with the U.S. PMF is also on the U.S. terrorist organization list.

“Our policy is to support forces with and under the direct control of the government of Iraq,” said U.S. Army Colonel Steve Warren. He is a spokesman for the coalition’s operations against IS.

The alleged chemical attack may increase pressure to move against IS forces in Bashir.

Freeing the village from IS will only take a few hours, said Lieutenant General Anwar Hamad Amin. He is commander of the Iraqi Air Force.

But he told VOA, “There needs to be coordination with forces on the ground first.”

And that will not be easy, according to Michael Knights, a Washington Institute expert on the region.

“If a friendly fire incident happened and coalition airstrikes killed Shia PMF, there is a concern among the Shia PMF leaders and the coalition that extremists would retaliate against coalition trainers and embassies,” Knights said.

I'm Bruce Alpert.

Rikar Hussein reported on this story for VOANews.com. Bruce Alpert adapted this story for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor.

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