# Iraq's Model City: Kirkuk Thrives in Sea of Corruption and Violence



## longknife (Mar 20, 2013)

By Christoph Reuter @ Kirkuk Thrives Despite Corruption and Sectarian Violence in Iraq - SPIEGEL ONLINE 


> Ten years after the US invasion, Iraq is still plagued by sectarian violence, poverty and corruption. The northern city of Kirkuk, however, has defied predictions to emerge as a model of inter-ethnic reconciliation and relatively efficient government.



Perhaps all those lost and ruined lives were not for nothing!


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## waltky (Oct 21, 2016)

ISIS attacks power plant in Kirkuk...





*IS Attacks Iraq City of Kirkuk, Power Plant Amid Mosul Fight*
_Oct 21, 2016 — Islamic State militants armed with assault rifles and explosives attacked targets in and around the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk early Friday in an assault that appeared aimed at diverting Iraqi security forces from a massive offensive against the IS-held city of Mosul._


> At least 11 workers, including two Iranians, were killed when IS militants stormed a power plant north of Kirkuk and then blew themselves up.  Multiple explosions meanwhile rocked the city, and gun battles were ongoing, said witnesses in Kirkuk, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were concerned for their safety. Much of the fighting was centered on a government compound in the city. They said the streets were largely deserted out of fear of militant snipers.  IS said its fighters targeted the provincial headquarters. The claim was carried by the IS-run Aamaq news agency and could not immediately be verified.
> 
> Local Kurdish television channel Rudaw aired footage showing black smoke rising over the city as extended bursts of automatic gunfire rang out. It quoted Kirkuk Gov. Najmadin Karim as saying that the militants have not seized any government buildings.  In the power plant attack, which took place in Dibis, a town north of Kirkuk, three IS suicide bombers entered the facility and took 10 workers hostage, said Maj. Ahmed Kader Ali, the Dibis police chief.  The attackers asked to be taken to the Iranians who worked at the plant. One of the workers took them to the Iranians before escaping. The militants then killed the Iranians and the other workers, and detonated their explosive vests when police arrived, Ali said.
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## waltky (Nov 12, 2017)

Mass Graves Found in Iraq Could Contain up to 400 Bodies...




*Mass Graves Found in Iraq Could Contain up to 400 Bodies*
_12 Nov.`17 - Iraqi security forces have found mass graves in an area recently retaken from the Islamic State group that could contain up to 400 bodies, an Iraqi official said Sunday._


> The bodies of civilians and security forces were found in an abandoned base near Hawija, a northern town retaken in early October, Kirkuk governor Rakan Saed said. He didn't say when authorities will start exhuming the bodies from the mass graves.  Iraqi security forces speak to shepherd Khalaf Luhaibi next to bones on the ground at an abandoned base near the northern town of Hawija, Iraq, Nov. 22, 2017.
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> Khalaf Luhaibi, a local shepherd who led troops to the site, said IS used to bring captives to the area and shoot them dead or pour oil over them and light them on fire. The area was strewn with torn clothing and what appeared to be human bones and skulls.  Iraqi forces have driven IS from nearly all the territory it once controlled. Authorities have already uncovered several mass graves in other newly liberated areas.
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See also:

*Anti-Daesh War Cost Iraq $100 Billion in Losses: PM*
_Sunday 12th November, 2017 | Losses from the war on the Daesh (also known as ISIL or ISIS) terrorist group have cost Iraq $100 billion, Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi said Saturday._


> 'Iraq has lost $100 billion in the anti-Daesh war, but we have achieved success in three battles; namely liberating the land, maintaining Iraq's unity and standing up to the threats,' al-Abadi said during a speech in the southern Karbala province, Anadolu Agency reported.
> 
> As for the crisis between Baghdad and northern Iraq's Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), al-Abadi said 'we don't need mediation with our Kurdish people'. '[Kurdish] Peshmerga fighters enjoy patriotism, and we regret accusing those who did not fight against the Iraqi army of betrayal,' he said.
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