Peshmerga forces repel ISIS attack on Erbil province
The Iraqi government in 2017 declared “victory” on the terror group, which controlled a third of the country during its three-year-long reign.
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga forces repelled an ISIS attack in southern Erbil province on Thursday night, according to a statement from the ministry.
The ISIS militants attacked a barricade of the 18th Infantry Brigade southeast of Mount Qarachoogh. The Peshmerga swiftly responded and foiled the attack, according to the Ministry of Peshmerga’s Media and Awareness Cell.
A Peshmerga was wounded in the fighting but his condition is “stable”, according to the statement.
In late 2021 ISIS ramped up its attacks on numerous Peshmerga positions in the northern part of the country, particularly in the disputed territories between Erbil and Baghdad.
The Iraqi government in 2017 declared “victory” on the terror group, which controlled a third of the country during its three-year-long reign.
However, the group’s ability to launch coordinated attacks on civilian and military targets indicated they are far from defeated. Kurdish officials have regularly called on their Iraqi counterparts to increase security cooperation in the disputed territories, where there has been a security vacuum since 2017.
Due to “budget constraints”, the formation of a joint Iraqi-Peshmerga brigade to secure these areas has come to a standstill, according to the latest US Defense Department’s Lead Inspector General report submitted to Congress.
