Suspected ISIS attack kills, injures Peshmerga

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - At least one member of the Kurdish Peshmerga commando forces was killed and eight others were injured in a suspected Islamic State (ISIS) IED attack on Wednesday.

The force was in the midst of an anti-ISIS operation in Garmiyan administration’s Qum Palik village when their vehicle hit an IED.

Rudaw understands that among the wounded is commander of the force Akam Omar and his personal guard was killed in the attack.

Omar was transferred to a hospital in Sulaimani by helicopter, where he is receiving treatment for his wound, according to Rudaw’s reporter on the ground.

ISIS seized control of large swathes of Iraqi land 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.

Although joint brigades have not been formed, Kurdish and Iraqi forces launch operations targeting ISIS remnants in the disputed areas.

Iraqi security media cell in September announced the killing of Abu Fatima, in an air operation on August 20. The cell added that the deceased was the military commander of the group in Salahaddin province and was one of the “dangerous terrorists and had participated in terrorist attacks against security forces and civilians”.

The Iraqi counter-terrorism services in August announced the killing of six prominent ISIS leaders, identifying the most prominent leader killed as Abu Maryam al-Qahtani, the group’s so-called general administrator of Salahaddin province.