ISIS attacks in disputed territories killed 399 people between January 2021-April 2022: KRG Coordinator

"More than 283 ISIS terrorist acts were recorded in the disputed areas from January 2021 to April 2022."
Dr. Dindar Zebari, KRG Coordinator for International Advocacy and the KRG representative in the NCC (Photo: Kurdistan 24)
Dr. Dindar Zebari, KRG Coordinator for International Advocacy and the KRG representative in the NCC (Photo: Kurdistan 24)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – ISIS attacks killed just under 400 people in the disputed territories between Iraq and the Kurdistan Region from January 2021 to April 2022, the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Coordinator for International Advocacy, Dr. Dindar Zebari, told a press conference last week.

"More than 283 ISIS terrorist acts were recorded in the disputed areas from January 2021 to April 2022, which collectively resulted in 399 martyrs, 539 wounded individuals, and 40 abductions," Zebari said. 

"The types of incursions terrorists utilized included affirmative attacks, ambush, suicide bombings, body-trapped vehicle and motorcycle, IED (improvised explosive device), fake checkpoints, rockets, mortars, and abductions."

On Monday, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani warned that ISIS's latest attacks in Iraq pose a "serious threat".

Read More: Latest ISIS attacks a 'serious threat' to Iraq: Nechirvan Barzani

His statement came after ISIS attacks in several Iraqi provinces on Sunday killed at least seven people, including security forces members, and injured 20 others. 

Senior Kurdish officials have repeatedly warned about the ISIS threat, particularly in the disputed territories between Erbil and Baghdad. 

Following the Kurdistan Region's 2017 independence referendum, the Iraqi army and Iranian-backed armed groups pushed the Peshmerga out of these territories, creating security gaps that ISIS militants have used to reorganize and mount attacks.

Read More: Iraqi Diyala Operations Command visits Peshmerga to coordinate anti-ISIS operations

In recent months, Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga forces have stepped up coordination and launched new operations in the disputed Makhmour district against suspected ISIS hideouts. 

On July 23, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and his Iraqi counterpart Mustafa Al-Kadhimi discussed security coordination between the two sides in a meeting in Baghdad.

They both underlined the "importance of continuing to confront the threat of ISIS" and protecting Iraqi citizens.