ERBIL, Kurdistan Region- At least 20 militants of the Islamic State (ISIS) were reportedly killed after hours of fighting with Kurdish Peshmerga forces in Shanafi village on the Gwer front Saturday morning, a Peshmerga source told Rudaw. The source said that the militants launched an attack on the Kurdish defense lines at around 3 o’clock in the morning. The Peshmerga repelled the attack and coalition jets were also involved in bombing the group’s fighting positions once the militants had withdrawn. The Kurdish Peshmerga liberated 12 villages in Nineveh province last week, pushing back the group further towards its Mosul stronghold. The most recent Peshmerga offensive was part of a larger operation to retake Mosul from ISIS where it has been in control since 2014. Also on Saturday the Iraqi army announced that it had dropped leaflets on the town of Qayyara southeast of Mosul, encouraging the civilian population to leave the town. The leaflets instructed people to head to the village of Tina under army control or a new settlement built inside the Qayyara airfield. Iraqi troops have been held back in the vicinities of Qayyara for almost two months due to fierce resistance from ISIS militants who are protected by the Tigris River and the town’s many hideouts.
