ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Two Islamic State (ISIS) members were killed in a fresh operation launched by Peshmerga forces in southwestern Erbil province on Sunday, while a Kurdish fighter was wounded, a commander told Rudaw.
Sirwan Barzani, commander of Peshmerga forces in Makhmour confirmed to Rudaw late Sunday that the latest operation in Mount Qarachogh by a joint Peshmerga and Iraqi army force led to the deaths of two ISIS fighters.
"One Peshmerga was slightly wounded and two ISIS fighters were killed in the clashes," Barzani said.
The Peshmerga ministry on Sunday announced that the force had conducted an operation in Mount Qarachogh, an area synonymous with ISIS activity.
"All the terrorist hideouts in the vicinity of the operation were destroyed and a large part of Mount Qarachogh was cleared," the ministry said.
Barzani said that several tunnels and caves used by ISIS as hideouts were destroyed in the operation.
ISIS seized control of large swathes of Iraqi territory in 2014. The group was declared territorially defeated in 2017 but continues to carry out bombings, hit-and-run attacks, and abductions across several provinces.
The militants have taken shelter in a security vacuum in areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad, stretching across several provinces including Kirkuk, Salahaddin, and Diyala.
Iraqi army and Peshmerga have formed joint brigades to fight ISIS in the disputed territories, but government formation turmoil has prevented their work from materializing.
