ERBIL, Kurdistan Region— A Kurdish Peshmarga commander was killed on Sunday while leading a team of specialists to defuse improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in rural Kirkuk province. Lieutenant Colonel Bakr Khider, 48, received fatal wounds when a roadside bomb exploded and hit a group of technicians who were deactivating tripwires planted by the ISIS militants in Zarga area, 35 km from Khurmatu township, south of Kirkuk city. Captain Rekawt Muhammad of the 12th Peshmarga Brigade told Rudaw one Peshmarga was also wounded in the incident which happened at around 10:30am Sunday. The Ministry of Peshmarga said in January more than 1,000 Kurdish fighters had been killed since the war began with the Islamic State militants in August last year. The number of casualties has risen since that time due to heavy fighting with the extremists along the more than 800-km frontlines manned by the Peshmerga. Kurdish officials said ISIS militants have planted explosives in most recaptured areas to make the return of inhabitants difficult.
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