Kirkuk
  • Anti-government protests continued in Kirkuk Governorate due to ongoing shortages of water, electricity, gas, and waste collection. Dozens of taxi drivers launched a demonstration to protest the lack of fuel, and even non-Kurdish demonstrators praised the late governor, Dr. Najmaldin Karim, for his successes in providing services while bashing the current acting governor, Rakan Saed al Jabouri, who was imposed on the governorate on October 16, 2017. The protestors compared the service delivered by Governor Karim to the current administration, including shortage of gas, a decrease of electricity hours from 24 hours a day to eight hours, and the waste collection, which has become one of the top complaints in the province. 
  • On Thursday, June 8th, the Kurdish parties held a joint meeting to address the lack of basic services in the province. In a press conference, Kurdish parties denounced the current status of the primary services and gave the administration five days as a time limit to fix the shortage of electricity and waste accumulation; otherwise, they will organize mass demonstrations. The parties are under immense pressure from the people for continuous deterioration of living conditions. So far, the anti-government protests have been limited to ordinary citizens without the backing of any political party.
  • On Friday, June 4th, Ammar al-Hakim, the Iraqi Shia cleric and politician who is head of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, visited Kirkuk and held several meetings with Kirkuk’s political parties and tribal leaders. Al Hakim’s visit raised anger amongst the people due to him arriving in a military plane, and for the acting governor’s official reception upon his arrival. Al-Hakim has no official position within the Iraqi government. Many social media activists accused al-Hakim of supporting the acting governor amid daily protests for the failure to deliver basic services.
  • On Friday, June 4, the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) replaced ten officials in the Kirkuk office, including nine heads of departments within the commissions. Both Kurds and Arabs rejected the changes by the IHEC and accused the new appointees of previous involvement in electoral fraud. The IHEC said the changes would improve operation in the upcoming parliamentary elections which are to be held on October 10, 2021. The Kurdish province of Kirkuk remains a hot spot of competition between different ethnic groups and political parties backed by Baghdad, Tehran, and Ankara.
  • New cases of pediatric alopecia have spread to at least two children in a village near the Dibis sub-district. Due to poor health services in Kirkuk, the disease has reappeared after nearly forty years.
  • Several Arab tribal leaders from Kirkuk are set to visit Turkey and hold meetings with government officials. According to sources, Turkey’s invitation is part of its preparation to support stakeholders in the upcoming elections, including the Sunni tribes of al-Obaid and al-Hamdan. Turkey fears losing the leverage it enjoys after the upcoming elections, especially amid the rise of Iranian influence over the Shia Turkmen and the (Sunni) al-Jabouris. Currently, Turkey’s main proxy in Kirkuk is the Iraqi Turkmen Front, however some Shia Turkmen members have shifted their loyalty toward Iran.
  • On June 3rd, the Iraqi interior ministry announced the arrest of an ISIS (Da’esh) sleeper cell inside Kirkuk, consisting of four terrorists. During their detention, several weapons and electronic devices were confiscated. Further, on Monday, June 7th, the police arrested four more Da’esh terrorists in three locations, including in Shwan, Perdis, and Tarkalan subdistricts. The terror group planned to attack more oil fields, as revealed by intelligence.
  • On Tuesday, June 8th, security forces arrested a group of drug dealers consisting of seven members, including a woman. The group is accused of trading crystal meth, a drug that has invaded Iraq in the past decade, primarily produced in Iran. After October 16, Kirkuk has become the main route of drug transport coming from Iran.
Khanaqin 
  • On Sunday, June 6, the Iraqi forces launched a military operation in Khanaqin’s forest, east of the city, including the Muradat and Ali Sadoon areas. Recently, Da’esh terrorists have been using the area to launch attacks. On Tuesday, the security forces announced killing a Da’esh “IED engineer” near Alwand river. According to an official statement, the terrorist carried two suicide belts before he was sniped by security officers.
  • The Iraqi Martyrs Foundation announced the discovery of a new mass grave between Khanaqin and Kifri cities. The mass grave consists of 500 corpses of civilians killed by the former regime of al Ba’ath. The foundation is investigating the identities of the victims.
Tuz Khurmatu
  • The first joint Peshmarga-Iraqi operation targeting ISIS (Da’esh) took place east of Tuz Khurmatu on Sunday. The Iraqi Security Media Cell announced Iraqi forces also launched five airstrikes on Da’esh positions during the operation. Likewise, a senior Peshmerga commander told Rudaw 13 Da’esh tunnels were destroyed during the operation. Iraq’s “Disputed Territories” have remained plagued by Da’esh since Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed militias removed the Peshmerga in October 2017. 
Makhmour 
  • Turkish forces made good on a threat from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and ignored US warnings by launching an airstrike on the Makhmour refugee camp and killing three civilians. Erdogan continues to claim the camp, which houses thousands of Kurdish refugees who fled Turkish military operations during the 1990s, is providing a safe haven to PKK members.
  • The Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) have increased their presence near Makhmour by deploying more militants last week. Recently, the PMUs have also mobilized more troops near Mosul for unknown reasons.
Shingal
  • On Tuesday, June 8th, the bodies of eleven Yazidi Kurds killed by Da’esh were exhumed by authorities to conduct DNA tests as the victims’ identities were unknown. The local police said the victims were killed by Da’esh in 2014.
  • The security forces in Shingal (Sinjar) denied the initial report accusing the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) of kidnapping two Yazidi women. The police said the disappearance of two Yazidi women resulted from a family dispute, and the search is ongoing to find their fate. The Iraqi army, PMU, and Pro-PKK Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS) are present in the Yazidi town.