HPG (People's Defense Forces) Kirkuk Command reported in a written statement that HPG-YJA Star guerrillas and peshmerga forces have launched a joint operation in Kirkuk to mark the 27th anniversary of the Halabja massacre. The large scale chemical weapons attack unleashed by Saddam Hussein on 16 March 1988, during the closing days of the Iran–Iraq War, caused the deaths of at least 5000 civilians and left between 7000 and 10,000 others wounded.

The villages of Wehdê, Xalid and Seedê in Dakok district of Kirkuk have been liberated in the operation which started at 5 am this morning with an intense aerial bombardment of the international coalition warcraft and heavy weapon attacks.

The gang groups in the mentioned villages were driven out of the region following clashes at various points during which 13 members of the ISIS gangs were killed.