Peshmerga repel Shia militia attack, destroy tanks deployed against Kurdistan

Jamal Imniki, the Chief of General Staff of the Peshmerga, announced the Kurdish forces had successfully rebuffed another attack launched by the Shia Hashd al-Shaabi militia.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Peshmerga forces on Thursday destroyed two tanks and three Humvees in clashes against the Iranian-backed Shia militia and Iraqi troops in the latest advance on Kurdish territory, according to an official.

Jamal Imniki, the Chief of General Staff of the Peshmerga, announced the Kurdish forces had successfully rebuffed another attack launched by the Shia Hashd al-Shaabi militia, also known as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), and Iraqi forces in the northwest of the Kurdistan Region.

“Our Peshmerga forces achieved a momentous victory on this day, destroying three Humvees and two tanks being used by the PMF on the western Tigris front,” Imniki told Kurdistan 24 while on the Zummar area front lines.

He added that Kurdish forces were able to down two unmanned surveillance aircrafts the Hashd al-Shaabi were using on the outskirts of the province of Dohuk, northwest of Mosul.

Imniki also highlighted the involvement of Hadi al-Ameri and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in leading the attacks with the Iranian-backed PMF who are fighting alongside the Iraqi security forces.

Before the assault began, the Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) had warned of an “imminent attack” by the Iraqi troops and the Shia militias northwest of Mosul.

The KRSC warning came in a statement issued early Thursday morning in Erbil.

The KRSC statement, highlighting the unprovoked nature of the threatened attack, cited the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) “flexibility and repeated calls for dialogue.”

The Peshmerga have been repelling the attacks for the past week at various lines of contact around the Kurdistan Region, notably in the Rabia and Faysh Khabur areas, with the PMF’s attempted incursion being an apparent bid to reach the border crossing with Turkey.

 

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany