Kirkuk Night Raid

Kamaran Najm, a Kurdish photo journalist, joined an Iraqi police unit on a search operation in the village of Tibij, 55 kilometres west of Kirkuk, on September 21 2008.

The police unit is part of a force in charge of the volatile Kirkuk Governorate, which has been the scene of sectarian violence between Kurds, Turkomans and Arabs. The head of the police force, Colonel Sarhad Qadir, has had seven attempts on his life since his appointment in 2004. In 2005, his brother, a senior security official, was murdered in an ambush. And since then, four other members of his family have also been killed in attacks. Qadir has led 75 search operations in Kirkuk suburbs since January 2008, and says he is determined to carry on.