Peshmerga Hit IS in Mosul

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Kurdish Peshmerga forces equipped with new heavy weapons have opened a new front in their fight against the Islamic State (IS/ISIS), attacking the group in its stronghold of Mosul, a military official said.

The past 12 hours have seen some of the fiercest fighting between the Peshmerga and IS militants at Gogjalil, outside Mosul.

A Peshmerga official said his forces have killed four IS militants and captured three. On Tuesday night, eight IS militants were killed and 11 wounded. Two Peshmerga soldiers were also injured.

Ranja Jamal, reporting for Rudaw from the frontline, said that the Peshmerga had repelled an attack Wednesday morning, destroying several IS vehicles.

“The vehicles caught fire and the attack didn’t succeed,” said Jamal, who spoke to Rudaw Radio live from the scene.

Also Wednesday morning, a truck bomb targeted a Peshmerga checkpoint at the village of Aliya Rash near Mosul, killing a major and wounding 13 Kurdish soldiers.

Peshmerga sources said they had tried to stop the truck by firing on it before it reached the checkpoint.

According to our reporter, heavy Peshmerga bombardment destroyed an IS arsenal in Gogjalil on Tuesday.

A large force of IS fighters in 40 vehicles is said to have taken position at the Gogjalil cemetery, from where they are locked in battle with the Peshmerga.

The Kurds heavily bombed the center of Mosul on Tuesday, said the Rudaw reporter, which was confirmed by IS postings on the Internet.

The Kurdish forces, who share more than 1,000 kilometers of border with the self-declared Islamic State, are closest to the group’s position at Mosul, which the militants have named as their capital.

Before the start of the offensive over the weekend, both sides sat on two ends of a bridge only 500 meters apart.