US-led coalition airstrikes kill 15 ISIS 'terrorists' in Iraq's disputed Makhmour

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Air raids by the International Coalition against the so-called Islamic State targeted the group's hideouts in the disputed Makhmour district, killing 15 suspected terrorists, Kurdish officials said on Saturday and Friday.

The operation comes as members of the Islamic State continue to carry out insurgency-style attacks, often in and near territories of disputed claim between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the federal Iraqi government.

The commander of the Peshmerga's Gwer-Qarachokh front, Sirwan Barzani, said in a Friday social media post that "15 ISIS terrorists were killed within the past 48 hours" in a joint Peshmerga-Coalition operation.

The strikes targeted the terrorist organization's hideouts and tunnels east of Qarachokh Mountain and the surrounding areas in Makhmour, the region's Peshmerga commander, Maj. Gen. Zrian Shex-Wasani, told local media on Saturday.

"The operation was carried out in joint efforts, as the Peshmerga forces provided on-the-ground intelligence and surveillance, and the coalition fighter jets conducted the airstrikes," added Shex-Wasani.

Shex-Wasani asserted that air operations could not alone defeat the Islamic State, but noted that "there need to be ground military operations to hunt them down." He affirmed further that the Peshmerga is prepared to exert such efforts against the terrorist group and fill the existing "security gaps."

"Otherwise, ISIS will never be completely defeated," the commander stated.

Makhmour is a disputed territory located on the outskirts of the Kurdistan Region's capital, some 60 kilometers southwest of Erbil. Following the liberation of Mosul, Islamic State fighters gathered in surrounding disputed and vulnerable areas, such as Makhmour and Mount Qarachokh.       

Islamic State sleeper cells continue to carry out attacks, over two years after Baghdad declared a military victory over the group in late 2017.

Over the past few months, the coronavirus outbreak has presented a new challenge to the Iraqi government, adding to the lack of security coordination with the Kurdistan Region's Peshmerga in areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad.

The Peshmerga forces and Iraqi troops, backed by US-led Coalition airpower, have launched several military operations in recent years to eliminate sleeper cells hiding in areas surrounding Mount Qarachokh.

Editing by Khrush Najari