Peshmerga repels ISIS attack in Garmiyan area

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga forces repelled an Islamic State (ISIS) attack in the Garmiyan area overnight Sunday, a mere day after five Peshmerga were killed by an improvised explosive device (IED) allegedly planted by the group.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Ministry of Peshmerga announced that its forces had foiled a “cowardly” attack by ISIS militants in a rural area near Kifiri district, a disputed territory between Erbil and Baghdad. 

Around eight to ten ISIS militants were attempting to attack a Peshmerga outpost in Chami Qurychaye, Peshmerga Brigadier General Dler Mahmood told Kurdistan 24 on Monday.

Chami Qurychaye is located between Kifri and Tuz Khurmatu.

The attack came a day after a Peshmerga Humvee was destroyed by an IED that killed five and wounded at least four as those Peshmerga forces were repelling an ISIS attack on Kulajo, Garmiyan. 

Read More: Late night ISIS attack in Diyala province kills 5 Peshmerga fighters

Top officials from the Kurdistan Region as well as the US, the UK, and France have extended their condolences to the families of the victims and condemned the attack. 

In October 2017, the Iraqi military and Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) pushed the Peshmerga out of Kirkuk and several other regions disputed between Erbil and Baghdad. 

Since then, ISIS has exploited the large security vacuum that emerged in these areas between the Iraqi and Peshmerga positions. These areas include large tracts of land from Khanaqin in central Diyala province to Kirkuk and areas near Mosul.