KIRKUK, Kurdistan Region - Iranian troops did not take part in the recapture of Jalawla and Sadia from the Islamic State (ISIS), an operation in which at least 18 Peshmerga soldiers were killed, commanders involved in the fighting said.
“No Iranian combat troops participated in the attacks in Jalawla or Sadia, but they have helped us in military tactics” said Adnan Ama Mina, one of the commanders on the frontlines. “They helped with military advice," he said about the Iranians.
He added that Iraqi warplanes had played a decisive role in liberating both towns.
Following fighting that began early Sunday, Peshmerga fighting with backing from the Iraqi Army and Iranian forces captured all of Jalawla, and by evening had 90 percent of Sadia recaptured from the militants.
Peshmerga commanders said that at least 18 Kurdish soldiers were killed – most by mines and other bombs -- and some 40 wounded in the fighting.
The Iraqi military also announced the liberation of Sadia in cooperation with the Peshmerga.
“All of Jalawla is under the control of Peshmerga forces,” a Kurdish commander declared.
The Peshmerga victory in Jalawla followed a major assault on the militants.
ISIS militants were seen on the retreat, evacuating the lost town and fleeing toward the Sirwan river and the Qaraj mountains.
Earlier Sunday, Peshmerga forces seized control of five of the town’s neighborhoods and the two nearby villages of Sayid Ahmed and Sayid Jabir. They also said they had taken the stronghold of Tawhid.
A Kurdish commander said that parts of the town were packed with bombs left behind by ISIS and that special bomb disposal teams have been brought in to defuse them.
The major attack to retake Jalawla began on the ground following heavy bombardment of ISIS positions in and around the town by coalition fighter jets and Peshmerga artillery.
Kurdish forces have been battling ISIS around Jalawla for more than three months, after the town fell to the radical group in June following the collapse of the Iraqi army.
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