2 Peshmerga killed, 2 injured in ISIS attack near Khurmatu
KIRKUK, Kurdistan Region – Two Peshmerga have been killed and two more injured in an ISIS attack on Peshmerga positions near Khurmatu, about 75 kilometers south of Kirkuk on Saturday evening, a security official told Rudaw.
Kawa Sheikhani, an officer from the Khurmatu Police, also said that about 30 ISIS militants attacked the Peshmerga on two fronts.
A Peshmerga official had earlier confirmed there were casualties among the Peshmerga, some wounded and some killed, but he did not give details.
“Many evenings, ISIS militants get close to the Peshmerga bases and open fire. And this evening, the militants got close to the Peshmerga in Zarga area in Khurmatu opening fire on the Peshmerga,” said Abdulla Bor, Peshmerga commander of the Khurmatu front.
The attack lasted for at least an hour in the Zarga lake area west of Khurmatu.
The militants are within firing range of the Peshmerga in the Zarga area and have carried out increasingly frequent attacks on Kurdish forces and civilians. Earlier in July, Brig. Gen. Sidiq Mohammed, a Peshmerga commander in the area, told Rudaw that they were digging trenches and creating barriers in order to better defend the district, including the nearby city of Kirkuk.
Peshmerga have said that the only real solution to end this threat is to launch an operation to retake Hawija and they complain Baghdad has prioritized the Tal Afar offensive west of Mosul over Hawija.
Kurdish officials are also concerned that the terrorist group is turning the Hawija area into a base for guerrilla-style warfare as they lose territory of their so-called caliphate.
The area includes a stretch of the Hamrin Mountains, a range running from the border with Iran, along the southern edge of Kirkuk province, and northwest to the Tigris River.
“It is a very tough terrain. It is very difficult for the Iraqi military to control,” Lahur Talabany, director of Kurdistan’s counter-terror body, told Reuters in February. “It’s a good hideout place and a place they could have access from province to province without getting detected.”
Recent reports indicate that many ISIS commanders and fighters from Mosul have relocated to the Hamrin Mountains.
The expected offensive for Hawija, which has no start date yet, will include Peshmerga and Iraqi forces, backed by the US-led coalition.
Kawa Sheikhani, an officer from the Khurmatu Police, also said that about 30 ISIS militants attacked the Peshmerga on two fronts.
A Peshmerga official had earlier confirmed there were casualties among the Peshmerga, some wounded and some killed, but he did not give details.
“Many evenings, ISIS militants get close to the Peshmerga bases and open fire. And this evening, the militants got close to the Peshmerga in Zarga area in Khurmatu opening fire on the Peshmerga,” said Abdulla Bor, Peshmerga commander of the Khurmatu front.
The attack lasted for at least an hour in the Zarga lake area west of Khurmatu.
The militants are within firing range of the Peshmerga in the Zarga area and have carried out increasingly frequent attacks on Kurdish forces and civilians. Earlier in July, Brig. Gen. Sidiq Mohammed, a Peshmerga commander in the area, told Rudaw that they were digging trenches and creating barriers in order to better defend the district, including the nearby city of Kirkuk.
Peshmerga have said that the only real solution to end this threat is to launch an operation to retake Hawija and they complain Baghdad has prioritized the Tal Afar offensive west of Mosul over Hawija.
Kurdish officials are also concerned that the terrorist group is turning the Hawija area into a base for guerrilla-style warfare as they lose territory of their so-called caliphate.
The area includes a stretch of the Hamrin Mountains, a range running from the border with Iran, along the southern edge of Kirkuk province, and northwest to the Tigris River.
“It is a very tough terrain. It is very difficult for the Iraqi military to control,” Lahur Talabany, director of Kurdistan’s counter-terror body, told Reuters in February. “It’s a good hideout place and a place they could have access from province to province without getting detected.”
Recent reports indicate that many ISIS commanders and fighters from Mosul have relocated to the Hamrin Mountains.
The expected offensive for Hawija, which has no start date yet, will include Peshmerga and Iraqi forces, backed by the US-led coalition.