Situated between Baghdad and the Kurdish capital, Irbil, oil-rich Kirkuk has been the scene of heavy fighting between ISIL and the combined Iraqi army, Peshmerga and Shia militia forces aligned against it.
Hawijah police department issued a statement reporting that ‘governor’ Nime Nayef and military commander Abu Abed were killed Thursday in airstrikes on the village of Bashir, 15 km from central Kirkuk.
Kirkuk has been a target for ISIL since they took Mosul in June but they have been forced to retreat in recent weeks.