ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – At least 17 militants of the Islamic State group (ISIS) were killed in an airstrike southwest of Kirkuk on Thursday evening, an Iraqi security official said.
Coalition airpower destroyed military bases in areas south of Kirkuk, from where ISIS frequently launches attacks against Peshmerga positions inside the city.
The unidentified security official, quoted by Iraqi official media, said three bases where ISIS maintained “substantial military resources” were completely destroyed, including storage houses for ammunition and a number of vehicles.
Also south of Kirkuk, Kurdish Peshmerga forces launched an attack earlier this month and recaptured 13 villages from the militants, in an effort to diminish ISIS shelling capabilities targeting Kurdish positions.
The Asayish Kurdish security forces have been patrolling the oil- rich city of Kirkuk since 2003. Peshmarga troops entered the city in June last year, when the Iraqi army abandoned the area prior to an ISIS offensive.
Kurdish authorities have said Peshmerga forces will remain in the city and provide security for different ethnic and religious communities in the disputed city, despite the Iraqi government’s objections.
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