Peshmerga lost his life while feeding IDPs

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – A Peshmerga fighter who was trying to help the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) fleeing the Islamic State (IS)-held territories near Kirkuk became the target of an IS sniper.

On Sunday, a group of IDPs fleeing IS extremists tried to reach the Peshmerga frontlines in the village of Sadda from Hawija, 30 miles south of Kirkuk.

According to a Kurdistan24 reporter, every day dozens of families flee IS-held areas and arrive at Peshmerga frontlines through the village of Sadda.

Peshmerga fighters approached the IDPs with water and food, but IS opened fire. One Peshmerga lost his life and another was wounded.

A Peshmerga fighter told Kurdistan24 that "A group of us, despite delayed salaries, donated some money to buy food for the families coming to the frontlines."

“We were four Peshmerga who decided to take the food and water to the exhausted families. Suddenly IS extremists fired a round of shots one of which hit Karwan in his neck. He was martyred and another one was injured,” he said.

In early August, the UN refugee agency UNHCR reported that IS may have detained about 3,000 IDPs and killed 12 in Iraq on Thursday, in an attempt to prevent them from leaving the area.

Kurdistan Region is home to 1.8 million refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) who have mostly escaped terror from other parts of Iraq.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Joint Crisis Coordination Center (JCC) expects to receive 500,000 more IDPs from Mosul as the offensive to liberate the city from IS nears.

Editing by Ava Homa
(Huner Ahmed from Kirkuk contributed to this report)