ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – ISIS militants have blown up the bridge in Mala Abdullah village in southern Kirkuk province to stop a strong Peshmerga offensive that has retaken key areas, a Rudaw reporter has confirmed. “In order to stop our advances, the ISIS militants blew up the bridge in Mala Abdullah,” said Brigadier Zimnako Shamerani, a Peshmerga commander, on Monday. Despite the defensive tactics, he added: “The Peshmerga will arrive in Mala Abdullah village soon. They are only 5km away.” A Rudaw reporter on the frontlines said the villages of Dur Karaba, Smailawa, and the high ground behind Smailawa and Sakhra have been cleared from ISIS. “ISIS has planted mines around the liberated villages, so bomb disposal teams have begun defusing them,” said Brigadier Sarhad Qadir, a director of police in Kirkuk governorate.
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