Four ISIS militants killed, two imprisoned by Peshmerga near Tal Afar

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Four ISIS fighters have been killed and another two imprisoned by Kurdish Peshmerga in a village near Tal Afar Thursday night after the militants fell into an ambush set by the Kurdish fighters.

Badrkhan Zebari, a Peshmerga commander, told Rudaw Friday that the two sides entered an armed clash near Khara’ij village, north of Tal Afar when the militants entered territories held by the Peshmerga.

He said that three of the fighters blew themselves up, one was killed by the Peshmerga, and another two were imprisoned.

The Kurdish commander reported no casualties among their ranks.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared Tal Afar and its surroundings liberated late last month, and therefore concluded the months-long offensive to recapture the entire Nineveh Province, including its capital city of Mosul. But as the Thursday night clashes show, there are remaining pockets of ISIS in the province, many of whom try to flee to the Syrian border west of Nineveh.

On August 28, the Peshmerga reported that they arrested 12 fleeing ISIS militants and killed at least 5 more near the same village.

Kurdish Peshmerga and the US-led Global Coalition have said that the Kurdish fighters have killed more than 100 ISIS militants near Tal Afar since late last month.