Kakai Peshmerga repel IS attack in southern Kirkuk

KIRKUK, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Peshmerga forces who are members of the Kakai religious minority on Friday night repelled an Islamic State (IS) attack in southern Kirkuk, killing many militants.

Kurdistan 24 correspondent Hemin Dalo said following the fierce clashes, Peshmerga forces repelled the IS assault.

Many IS extremists were killed and wounded, a Peshmerga commander told Kurdistan 24 on Saturday.

He added three Peshmerga were “martyred” and a few more were injured.

The attack targeted Kakai Peshmerga front lines in the south of Kirkuk’s Daquq.

The area, consisting of many villages belonging to the Kakayi Kurds, remains under the control of the extremist group.

In the past months, IS has repeatedly attacked southern Kirkuk, aiming to break the Peshmerga forces’ defense line and enter the province, but none of their attempts have been successful.

Peshmerga has been one of the most effective ground troops in the fight against IS.

Since the emergence of the militant group in northern Iraq in mid-2014, over 1,700 Peshmerga soldiers have fallen while fighting the extremists and over 12,000 have been wounded.

Kirkuk officials have often called on the Federal Government of Iraq to accelerate plans to liberate the neighboring city of Hawija from IS, maintaining it poses a serious security threat on Kirkuk.

Kirkuk is a diverse province consisting of Turkmen, Arabs, and Christians with a Kurdish majority.

The province is home to half a million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who fled other parts of Iraq from the threat of IS.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany