ERBIL, Kurdistan Region--Over the last two days US-led coalition jets hammered Islamic State (ISIS) positions in Kirkuk and Mosul, killing a number of militants, Kurdish military officials said. In Mosul two air strikes on houses believed to be occupied by a local ISIS commander resulted in the death of 12 civilians on Monday, Reuters reported today. Eight militants were also reported killed. On Tuesday coalition jets covered a Peshmerga ground offensive against ISIS in Kirkuk. "Peshmerga obtained intelligence on an ongoing ISIS maneuver on the front," Kamal Kirkuki, the Peshmerga commander in Western Kirkuk, told Rudaw. The ISIS militants were believed to be digging trenches and tunnels to fortify their positions in the region. "We foiled their plots before they reached any Peshmerga posts," he added. According to Kirkuki the air strikes killed 5 militants. Last Wednesday the jihadi group launched its biggest offensives in months against the Peshmerga on multiple fronts including western Kirkuk, leading to two days of fierce fighting. More than 70 militants were killed in the confrontations. Several Peshmerga soldiers and two officers also lost their lives following several waves of suicide bomb attacks.
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