FEARS have been raised over an Islamic State revival in Iraq with increased activity across the country, including the hotly disputed Kirkuk province, with civilians and key government buildings targeted.

Today’s bombing of a football stadium south of the capital Baghdad killed 29 people and injured 60, according to security officials, as a major new offensive against the Islamist death cult was announced.

Authorities warned of the potential activation of sleeper cells in Kirkuk after an increase in attacks including the kidnapping and killing of civilians.

In an attempt to re-establish itself, Isis has adopted a new strategy of holding civilians hostage and using them as bargaining chips in negotiations to secure the release of jihadist prisoners.

Public anger over the attacks led to the launch of a major new offensive by Iraqi forces yesterday to defeat the remnants of the terror group and stop any popular insurgents from gaining hold.

The death cult was thought to have been defeated in Iraq after the recapture of their former stronghold of Mosul, from where they had declared a caliphate.

However, villages in Daquq district, south of Kirkuk province, have been attacked in recent days, with civilians killed and kidnapped. Five people working with security forces were found executed last week on the Kirkuk-Baghdad highway.

Isis affiliates are believed to be exploiting tensions in Kirkuk, which have escalated following May’s general election that saw a manual recount take place on Tuesday after complaints to the country’s election authorities.

Allegations of electoral fraud have increased hostilities between Arab, Kurdish and Turkmen parties and the jihadists could exacerbate pre-existing divisions between the Iraqi provinces.

Kirkuk is widely known as the “Kurdish Jerusalem” and was included in last year’s controversial independence referendum, sparking a major rift with Baghdad.

Last October government forces retook control of the oil-rich province which had previously been held by Kurdish peshmerga following the defeat of Islamic State in 2014.

In their latest magazine, the terror group has called on its affiliates to escalate activities in a “war of attrition” as it attempts to regroup. In March, they vowed to target minorities in Kirkuk and launched attacks against religious symbols.

Security services warn that fighters are harder to identify as they have now shaved off their beards and abandoned traditional dress, and no longer drive vehicles carrying the Isis flag.