Kurdish Forces Kill IS Leader, Capture Dozens of Militants

KIRKUK, Kurdistan Region – Kurdish forces killed a prominent Islamic State (IS) leader and captured 36 militants near Sulaiman Beg on Sunday, said Rudaw reporter.

“Abu Taiba has been killed and 36 other militants were captured by Peshmerga forces in Sulaiman Beg,” said Hiwa Hussamaddin, Rudaw correspondent from the frontline.

Kurdish Peshmerga forces have been fighting Islamist militants at Sulaiman Beg, 80 kilometers east of Tikrit, for the past two days.

“Peshmerga and Iraqi forces supported by the US airpower have been pounding Sulaiman Beg for the last 22 hours and according to the information Peshmerga forces gave to me, there has been lots of casualties in the ranks of the IS militants and many have been killed,” said Hussamaddin.  

Iraqi and US fighter jets struck IS positions near the town and Peshmerga forces shelled the area with artillery.

Iraqi, Kurdish and IS forces have fought hard for the control of Sulaiman Beg, a strategic town on the main highway that connects Baghdad with the north of the country.

According to Rudaw correspondent, the IS militants said through loudspeakers that they want to surrender themselves to Peshmerga forces.