ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Peshmerga forces repulsed an Islamic State (ISIS) attack near the city of Mosul in the early hours of Monday, killing several of the militants, Kurdish commanders in the area said.
Lieutenant Khidir Hussein of the Peshmerga forces near the Christian town of Tel Askof told Rudaw that the militants attacked the Kurdish positions with heavy machineguns near the village of Batnayi. He said Peshmerga responded “with deadly fire and repelled the attack.”
Hussein added that the Peshmerga suffered no casualties but that the ISIS militants had left several dead bodies behind.
Kurdish officials in the area also said that the ISIS leadership has called on Mosul residents to join their forces in the fight against the Peshmerga and Iraqi forces.
Ismat Rajab, head of the now-evacuated 14th branch of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in Mosul, said that the militants had met with tribal and religious leaders in the city, encouraging them to join the Islamic army.
“An ISIS leader has threatened the local people, warning that if they don’t take up arms they will take their men by force. Every family must offer at least one member to the ISIS,” Rajab said.
Quoting sources inside Mosul, he said the ISIS leader had warned of “severe punishment” against anyone who refuses the order.
Meanwhile, sources in Mosul told Rudaw that ISIS is running a training camp in the city for future suicide bombers, and that so far 340 volunteers have been trained for such missions.
In a Friday sermon last week posted on the Internet, an ISIS leader encouraged the people of Mosul to join the jihad against the Iraqi army and coalition forces, “Who want to destroy the Islamic State.”
In recent days Iraqi military officials have spoken of an all-out assault on Mosul to liberate the country’s second-largest city, which was captured by the militants in June.
This comes just days after Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi fired more than 30 military officials, and a weekend visit to Baghdad and Erbil by the top US General Martin Dempsey for discussions over anti-ISIS operations.
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