KIRKUK, Iraq, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Seven people were killed on Friday when Islamic State (IS) militants attacked the house of a police officer in Iraq's northern province of Kirkuk, a provincial security source told Xinhua.
In the early morning, IS gunmen broke into the house of Lt. Col. Farhan al-Azzawi at a village near the town of Debis, some 40 km west of the provincial capital city of Kirkuk, the source said on condition of anonymity.
Azzawi himself was not at home during the attack, but the attackers shot dead three of Azzawi's sons, two of his nephews, and two other people were also killed at the scene, the source said.
A Kurdish security force, known as Peshmerga, arrived at the village and clashed with the attackers, killing two IS militants before the others fled the village, the source added.
Iraqi security forces have liberated Iraq's second largest city of Mosul, but the rural areas near the town of Hawijah in west of Kirkuk, the town of Tal Afar in west of Mosul, the sprawling rugged area in the eastern part of Salahudin province and the areas near the border with neighboring Syria are still under IS control.
On July 10, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi formally declared the liberation of Mosul from IS after nearly nine months of fierce fighting to dislodge the extremist militants from their last major stronghold in Iraq.
