ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — At least 16 Islamic State militants were killed in the last two days in coalition airstrikes in the mountainous Khazer area 50 kilometers west of Dohuk.
General Hadi Halabjayi of the 4th Peshmerga Division operating in the area told Rudaw the latest airstrikes began Saturday evening and continued overnight until early Sunday as Peshmerga forces advanced in the area.
One military source who wished to remain anonymous told Rudaw two coalition aircraft were involved in the airstrikes and strafed ISIS positions in the area over 10 times.
“We had information that ISIS was preparing an attack, which is why we coordinated with the coalition to pound the tile factory in the area where the militants had taken shelter,” the source said.
The airstrikes also targeted positions in the villages of Tarzla and Karmles by Zardk Mountains in the Khazer region, sources confirmed to Rudaw.
Earlier on Saturday, airstrikes targeted ISIS militants in villages close to Makhmour, some 35 kilometers southwest of Erbil.
Kurdish authorities have in the past accused local Sunni Arab tribes in the ethnically mixed area of harboring ISIS militants.
Earlier this month, the mayor in Makhmour told Rudaw he feared many of the missing civil servants in the area had joined ISIS to fight Kurdish forces.
“We know for sure that at least 15 of our teachers have joined Daesh,” Mayor Ibrahim Sheikhallah told Rudaw using Daesh, the Arabic acronym for ISIS. “The principal of a school who joined ISIS was found dead just recently.”
Authorities say around 500 government employees, mostly of Arab origin, have been missing since August last year when the militants attacked the area. The missing employees worked for the Kurdish Ministries of Religious Affairs and Education, some as teachers, others as civil servants.
“We are not completely sure if all of them are with Daesh now, but we have a strong suspicion,” Sheikhallah said.
According to Kurdish authorities ISIS still controls around 40 villages in the Makhmour area. Most of the villages have mixed or predominantly Sunni Arab populations.
