The Kurdistan Region's Peshmerga ministry said in a statement that "at 09:00, in the Khurmatu district, an improvised explosive device targeted a convoy of vehicles belonging to the commander of the third Battalion, first Brigade of the joint Peshmerga and Iraqi Army forces."
Two Peshmerga commanders and a sergeant were killed in the blast, and three Peshmerga fighters were injured.
The statement identified the victims as colonel Saman Sabir Sulaiman, who is the commander of the battalion, colonel Mohammed Raza Karim, an officer of the ninth division of the Iraqi army, and Sergeant Sharif Ahmed Mohammed Amin.
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani extended condolences to the victims' families. While condemning the incident, President Barzani underscored for the need for "continued and enhanced coordination and cooperation" between both the Peshmerga and Iraqi forces in the disputed areas.
"This terrorist act underscores that terrorism remains a serious and direct threat, endangering the stability and security of Iraq, the Kurdistan Region, and the region as a whole, particularly the safety and livelihoods of citizens in the disputed areas covered by Article 140," President Barzani said in a statement on X.
"We emphasize the need for continued and enhanced coordination and cooperation between the Peshmerga forces, the Iraqi Army, and allied forces to confront and eliminate terrorists effectively," he added.
The Iraqi army and Kurdish Peshmerga forces frequently conduct operations against ISIS and the disputed territories between Erbil and Baghdad, which include the provinces of Nineveh, Salahaddin, Diyala, and Kirkuk.
ISIS seized control of swathes of Iraqi land in a brazen offensive in 2014. It was declared territorially defeated in 2017 after Iraqi and Kurdish fighters, supported by a US-led international coalition, clawed back territory from the jihadists.
Despite its territorial defeat, the militants have taken shelter in the disputed territories between Erbil and Baghdad, where there is a security vacuum.
Tuz Khurmatu, located about 65 kilometers south of Kirkuk city, is a diverse district and town with Kurds, Arabs, and Turkmen.
In September, a Peshmerga fighter in Tuz Khurmatu’s Ghara lost a leg in an IED explosion.
On Saturday, an Iraqi airstrike killed at least four ISIS members in Kirkuk province.
Updated at 2:16 pm with the statement from President Barzani
