Peshmerga kill senior IS leader, responsible for Nineveh Plains military

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Kurdish Peshmerga forces killed a senior Islamic State (IS) leader in northern Mosul who was responsible for Nineveh Plains military activities, Kurdistan Counter-terrorism announced on Wednesday.

The Kurdistan Region Counter-terrorism Directorate of the Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) announced the death of Abu Jarah, a senior IS leader in Mosul.

According to the announcement, Peshmerga forces killed Abu Jarah in a military operation conducted by the Peshmerga forces on Mosul Dam front line after receiving intelligence. The operation took place on September 27 late at night.

 [The photo of Abu Jarah, a senior IS leader. (Photo: Kurdistan Counter-terrorism)]

Abu Jarah was also known as Abu Hisham and his full name was Arshad Ahmad Salih al-Obeidi. According to Kurdistan counter-terrorism, he was from Albu Sif village in the town Tilkef and was responsible for the IS’s military activities in Nineveh Plains, northern Mosul.

Counter-terrorism announcement also reveals that he was supervising the IS’s attack on Peshmerga front line in Khazir, western Erbil that killed several Peshmerga soldiers.

Kurdistan Region shares over 1,000 km (620 miles) with the jihadist group in northern Iraq. Peshmerga has been one of the most efficient ground troops in defeating IS.

Since the emergence of IS in Mosul in June 2014, Peshmerga forces have liberated large swaths of territories and pushed the group back to the city.

Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), the federal government of Iraq and the US-led coalition countries, have made preparations to launch a massive military operation against IS to retake Mosul back and end the self-proclaimed caliphate in the country.

The offensive is planned to take place by the end of 2016 when the Iraqi local ground troops will liberate Mosul.

Editing by Ava Homa