‘Doubt Peshmerga’s bravery? Count IS bodies on battlefield’
Islamic State (IS) insurgents used many armored vehicles, bulldozers and suicide bombers to pass the Peshmerga front, but were pushed back after an hour, according to a senior Peshmerga Commander on Tuesday.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Islamic State (IS) insurgents used many armored vehicles, bulldozers and suicide bombers to pass the Peshmerga front, but were pushed back after an hour, according to a senior Peshmerga Commander on Tuesday.
IS extremists attacked the Peshmerga front in northern Mosul at 5:20 a.m. on Tuesday. The attacks targeted Telskuf area and Musqalat village, but Peshmerga successfully repelled the attempts and pushed the militants back.
In an interview with Kurdistan24 on Tuesday evening, Mansour Barzani, a Peshmerga Commander and the son of the Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani, stated that IS launched heavy attacks on Peshmerga front lines in northern Mosul.
“Da’esh controlled some areas for an hour, but later Peshmerga pushed them back and inflicted heavy damage on them,” said Barzani, using the pejorative term for IS.
He mentioned that over 100 jihadists were killed, and more than 40 bodies left on the battlefield.
“When IS attacked, no coalition warplanes were present to target the vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs) approaching the Peshmerga bases. Peshmerga successfully repelled the attack using its weapons,” Barzani added.
Moreover, he mentioned that IS intended to demonstrate their strength with those attacks. However, the Peshmerga thwarted their attempts “and continue to sacrifice their lives to protect Kurds and Kurdistan anywhere needed.”
“Da’esh wants to show that they are still strong and disappoint Peshmerga in liberating Mosul, but we are ready to advance whenever the General Commander of the Peshmerga Forces and the President of the Kurdistan Region orders,” Barzani explained.
Additionally, he acknowledged that IS obtained armored vehicles and heavy weapons from the Iraqi and Syrian army due to their failures in the fight. “Da’esh uses those weapons against Peshmerga forces,” Barzani said
The Peshmerga Commander also stated that six VBIEDs attacked the Peshmerga front on Tuesday. Peshmerga repelled two of them by RPG and machine guns while the other four VBIEDs were destroyed by German anti-tank MILAN weapons.
Commenting on weapons that Peshmerga use against IS, Barzani thanked Germany for providing Peshmerga with MILAN weapons. “It was the MILAN weapon that destroyed four IS VBIEDs today,” he said.
Barzani also noted that whoever doubts Peshmerga's bravery in the fight against jihadists should check the IS bodies on the battlefield.
On Wednesday, IS also attacked Peshmerga bases in Kaske and Shindoxa areas in northern Mosul. However, Peshmerga forces, with the aerial support of the international coalition, successfully deterred their attacks, killing 40 militants.
Reporting by Mewan Dolamari
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany and Ava Homa