Frequent IS attacks in southern Kirkuk thwarted by Peshmerga

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Kurdish Peshmerga forces repelled an Islamic State (IS) attack in southern Kirkuk Province where four Kurdish forces were wounded, said a military source on Wednesday.

On Tuesday night at 11:30 local time, jihadists attacked the Peshmerga base in the Khurmatu front line, located in the south of Kirkuk. 

According to Haji Zuhdi, a Peshmerga Commander in the area, the clashes continued until 1:30 past midnight.

“After two hours, we repelled Da’esh’s attack. Four Peshmerga soldiers wounded,” Zuhdi said, using the Arabic pejorative for IS.

He mentioned that the number of IS militants in Tuesday’s attack were more than previous ones.

“According to our estimation, there were over 25 insurgents equipped with different weapons,” Zuhdi revealed.

The assault was the second IS attack on the same front line within five hours on Tuesday evening.

However, the offensive was ineffective as Peshmerga defeated them and forced the militants to retreat the area.

The IS attacks on Khurmatu front followed a recent Peshmerga operation in the east of Mosul.

On Sunday, Peshmerga launched a wide-range of attacks on IS in the east of the city. The offensive cleared 11 villages from the jihadists in less than two days.

The operation was part of the preparation to liberate Mosul, the second-largest city in the north of Iraq, as it has been under the control of IS since June 2014.

The Kurdistan Region shares over 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) of its border with IS in the north of Iraq.

The Region is home to over 1.8 million refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) who mostly fled to Kurdistan from other parts of Iraq.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany