ISIS claims to behead 4 Peshmerga at site of US-Kurdish raid

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Islamic State militants beheaded four Peshmerga soldiers at the site of the US-Kurdish raid near Hawija in Kirkuk province on October 22, the pro-ISIS Aamaq news blog reported on Thursday.

“Islamic State militants have killed four Peshmerga members by beheading at the site of the US Special Forces operation in cooperation with the Kurdistan government in Hawija one week ago,” Aamaq quoted an anonymous ISIS leader as saying.

The anonymous ISIS source has reportedly told Aamaq that there are other Peshmerga in ISIS hands, but the news blog did not mention what ISIS wants to do with them.

The news blog has not provided any pictures or videos to prove the claim.

As many as 60 US Special Forces personnel and Peshmerga counterterrorism forces participated in a raid on an ISIS prison compound near Hawija on October 22. According to the Kurdistan National Security Council, one American soldier was killed during the operation and three Peshmerga were wounded. The operation freed 69 hostages held by ISIS, all Sunni Arabs.

“You were lucky to be rescued, but unfortunately there were none of the Peshmerga left who were there before,” Masoud Barzani, President of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, said in a meeting with the freed hostages.