ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Islamic State group (ISIS) on Monday claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on Peshmerga forces on the Erbil-Kirkuk border late Saturday. The attack happened in the Zorgazraw region of Kirkuk’s Pirde (Altun Kupri) district, about 40 kilometers northwest of Kirkuk. Two Peshmerga were killed, identified as Khalid Hameed and Ako Karim. ISIS, in a post on its Telegram propaganda channel, claimed it killed three Peshmerga and injured others. The terror group seized control of swaths of land in Iraq in 2014. It was declared territorially defeated in 2017, but continues to carry out bombings, hit-and-run attacks, and abductions across several provinces. It is especially active in parts of northern Iraq that are disputed by Erbil and Baghdad, including in the provinces of Kirkuk, Diyala and Salahaddin. A Peshmerga commander on Sunday said the security gap between Kurdish and Iraqi forces in the disputed territories is to blame for the deadly attack. Peshmerga forces in Kirkuk have come under attack previously. In May, ISIS militants attacked a Peshmerga position, killing three and wounding two others. The United Kingdom’s minister of state for Middle East and North Africa (MENA) offered his condolences for the latest deaths. James Cleverly sent a letter to Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Barzani and sent his “heartfelt sympathy to the families of the Peshmerga who died,” read a statement from Barzani’s office on Monday.
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