UPDATE - Daesh kills 27 Hashd fighters in Kirkuk: Iraq officials

UPDATES WITH HASHD STATEMENT, HIGHER DEATH TOLL

By Ali Mukarrem Garip and Jussein al-Amir

KIRKUK, Iraq (AA) - Daesh terrorists executed 27 Hashd al-Shaabi fighters captured earlier in Iraq’s northern Kirkuk province, according to a Monday statement released by the Iraqi government.

"On Sunday evening, a Hashd al-Shaabi force was ambushed by Daesh terrorists, resulting in violent clashes that lasted for more than two hours," the statement read.

A largely Shia fighting force, the Hashd al-Shaabi was incorporated into the Iraqi armed forces in 2016.

"Due to the large number of attackers and difficult circumstances, about 20 of our fighters were killed," the statement added.

Afrasyav Qamil, a spokesman for the Kirkuk Police Directorate, told Anadolu Agency earlier Monday that Daesh had killed all the Hashd fighters that were captured following the clashes.

According to Qamil, the bodies of at least 27 slain Hashd fighters were found by Iraqi security forces who arrived in the area in the wake of the clashes.

Noting that the Hashd fighters had been "brutally" executed, Qamil pointed out that the terrorist group had also managed to capture several military vehicles and large amounts of ammunition.

In a statement issued earlier Monday, Qamil had reported that “fierce clashes” had erupted between Daesh terrorists and Hashd fighters in the village of Saduniye in southern Kirkuk.

Last December, officials in Baghdad declared that Daesh’s military presence in Iraq had been all but dismantled.

Nevertheless, it appears that the group still maintains “sleeper cells” in several parts of the country, including the oil-rich Kirkuk province.