Street clashes, 3 wounded as Peshmerga repulse ISIS offensive in Shingal

SHINGAL, Kurdistan Region – Three Peshmerga were wounded in Shingal Thursday, where Kurdish forces repulsed an Islamic State attack on Kurdish-controlled positions in the war-ravaged city.

General Hashim Sitayi from the 8th Peshmerga division told Rudaw the attack involved intense street clashes in the city.

“The clashes went on for several hours, till late in the evening,” Sitayi said, adding that coalition warplanes were involved in some of the fighting. He could not provide details of ISIS casualties because of the poor visibility at night.

Kurdish forces in December last year recaptured most areas around Shingal, including Mount Shingal, where thousands of Yezidis had taken refuge after an ISIS offensive last summer.

Parts of the city are in Peshmerga control but roadside mines and explosives planted by the militants have hampered advances.

Meanwhile Kurdish security forces seized three tons of TNT in the border town of Rabiaa and arrested several suspects, according to Qasim Smo, a Kurdish security official in Shingal, about 30 kilometers away.