The evacuation of civilians will be a priority as plans to liberate the Hawija district in western Kirkuk from the Islamic State (IS) are underway, the Iraqi army said on Sunday. The Iraqi Defense Ministry released a statement on Saturday indicating that troops were redeployed in Kirkuk in preparation to recapture Hawija. Brigadier-General Yahya Rasul, a spokesperson for the Iraqi Army Joint Operations Command (JOC), said the safety of civilians in the district was important. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory over the militant group in Tal Afar, west of Mosul, on Sep. 1 just two weeks after the campaign began. Brigadier-General Rasul said the offensive to liberate Hawija would “be fundamentally different than that for Tal Afar”.
