Second Kurdish commander killed as Peshmerga retake villages south of Kirkuk
KIRKUK, Kurdistan Region—On the second day of fighting with Islamist militants south of Kirkuk Peshmerga commander, Major General Hussein Mansour was killed Saturday near the village of Mala Abdullah.
Brigadier Sarhad Qadir, chief of Kirkuk suburban police told Rudaw that Maj.-Gen. Mansour was killed by an ISIS sniper.
Maj.-Gen. Mansour was the commander of the 2nd combat support units in the Kirkuk region.
According to Brig. Qadir, he was killed when a large force of Peshmerga and anti-terror squad launched an attack against ISIS positions in Mala Abdullah and several nearby villages.
The bodies of 15 ISIS militants were found in the village as the Peshmerga took control, said Brig. Qadir.
Kurdish forces have been locked in heavy battle with ISIS militants for the past 48 hours south of Kirkuk where on Friday Brigadier Sherko Shwani and eight Peshmerga soldiers were killed.