Kurdish village in disputed Kirkuk fully vacated after ISIS attacks
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The remaining families of a Kurdish village in Iraq's disputed Kirkuk province have left the area after coming under repeated attacks from ISIS remnants over the past several months.
"There were only ten families left, and they decided to leave today," Liheban village chief Kakashin told Kurdistan 24.
Late Saturday, the village's residents estimated about two dozen members of the terrorist organization had surrounded the small community, located in Kirkuk province's Sargaran subdistrict.
They had called for help from the Iraqi security forces, who are tasked with protecting the area. The locals ultimately pushed back the ISIS attack.
The incident came amid an uptick in ISIS assaults in disputed territories. One Peshmerga official said on Sunday that the Kurdish forces had agreed with their Iraqi counterpart to launch joint operations to target the terror group.
Read More: 'Peshmerga and Iraqi Army to start joint operations in disputed territories': Peshmerga official
Kurdistan 24 has learned that there were 65 families in Liheban in the summer of 2020. By mid-2021, there were about 25 families still there. Following the Saturday incident, fifteen more vacated their homes, with the remainder leaving today.
Members of the community have left behind most of their belongings and livestock to seek shelter elsewhere amid fears of a deadly ISIS assault.