Iraqi federal police removed an Islamic State (ISIS) flag on Saturday that had been flying for three days over a public school in the remote village of Ofiya in Kirkuk’s Hawija district, according to a security source.

Sabir Mohammed, head of the media office for Kirkuk police, told Rudaw that the Iraqi flag atop the village’s primary school had been taken down three nights earlier and replaced with the ISIS flag. “Three nights ago, the Iraqi flag was removed from the primary school in Ofiya village in Hawija district and was replaced by the ISIS flag,” Mohammed stated.

A federal police team was dispatched to the village on Saturday to remove the ISIS flag and restore the Iraqi flag to its position, according to Mohammed.

The village of Ofiya is a rural area with limited infrastructure. Mohammed noted that it lacks surveillance cameras and access to electricity, making it vulnerable to such incidents. He did not name any suspects.

The Hawija district, situated in southwestern Kirkuk province, has been a historical stronghold for insurgency activity in Iraq. It was one of the last areas controlled by ISIS before the group’s defeat was officially declared in 2017.

Despite ISIS’s territorial defeat, remnants of the group continue to pose a security threat through hit-and-run attacks, kidnappings, and bombings, particularly in Iraq’s rural areas that are disputed between the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

To combat these sleeper cells, Iraq’s security forces frequently conduct airstrikes against suspected ISIS hideouts, especially in the provinces of Kirkuk, Salahaddin, Diyala, and Nineveh, using the Iraqi air force to target and dismantle insurgent activity.