Dozen IS extremists killed, wounded in attack on Peshmerga in southern Kirkuk
A dozen of IS extremists killed and wounded in the attack.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga forces on Saturday repelled an attack by the Islamic State (IS) extremists near Khurmatu, south of Kirkuk.
The Peshmerga forces on Saturday thwarted an IS attack on its front lines in Zarga village, near the town of Khurmatu in southern Kirkuk province.
Colonel Safar, deputy commander of 11th Peshmerga Brigade, speaking to Kurdistan 24, said that IS extremists attacked the Peshmerga front line at around 6:20 PM, but they were successfully driven off.
The Peshmerga commander, whose force has been recently deployed to the battlefront, stated that this the third IS attack since their arrival in the area.
Colonel Safar reported that a dozen IS extremists might have been killed and injured in the strike but confirmed that two Peshmerga fighters were martyred in the attack.
“We assure people of Kurdistan, Kirkuk, and Khurmatu that as long as Peshmerga forces are at the border, they are protected and IS extremists cannot breach our lines,” a Peshmerga told a Kurdistan 24 reporter.
It is the fourth attack carried out by the jihadist group on Peshmerga front lines in Khurmatu in the past month.
Editing by G.H. Renaud