ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Peshmerga fighter was shot and injured by an unidentified man in Kirkuk in the early hours of Friday morning, an official source confirmed to Rudaw.
"Two bullets were fired from an unknown location which slightly wounded a Peshmerga fighter," Sarkawt Chimany, a commander of the Peshmerga forces, told Rudaw following the incident which took place in the Khasa dam in Kirkuk's Kochak village.
According to Chimany, the Peshmerga fighters within the brigade are on high alert. "We fired back and sent the attackers fleeing," he said.
The village's Facebook page claims that the Peshmerga fighter was wounded by a sniper rifle.
No group has claimed responsibility for the shooting yet.
Attacks on Peshmerga forces have greatly increased towards the end of last year. The Islamic State (ISIS), which usually claims responsibility for such attacks, frequently targets villages in the disputed areas between Erbil and Baghdad. Security vacuums present major issues to the villagers, who have had to wield weapons while attending to their daily tasks.
ISIS has killed at least 20 Peshmerga fighters and several civilians in the disputed areas, especially the areas around Kirkuk, in recent months.
Despite ISIS declared territorially defeated, the group continues to carry out bombings, kidnappings, and hit-and-run attacks across various provinces.
Numerous villages, typically ones on the base of Mount Qarachogh, have been completely abandoned due to the security threats posed by ISIS elements around the area.
Last month, Peshmerga forces were deployed in one of the affected villages following a slew of ISIS attacks in an effort to thwart potential threats.
By Julian Bechocha
