Peshmerga Commander rejects rumors of US helicopters landing in IS-held area
A Peshmerga Commander on Friday denied rumors that several US helicopters have landed in Islamic State (IS) held territory near Peshmerga front line in southern Kirkuk Province.
KIRKUK, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – A Peshmerga Commander on Friday denied rumors that several US helicopters have landed in Islamic State (IS) held territory near Peshmerga front line in southern Kirkuk Province.
Recently, some news outlets and social media pages published footage showing seven helicopters landing in an area claimed to be an IS-held location near Peshmerga front line in Southern Kirkuk.
The rumors also alleged that the helicopters were American Boeing Ch-47 Chinook type carrying armed supplies for the jihadist group in Saaidiya village.
In a press conference on Friday, Wasta Rasul, a Peshmerga Commander responsible for the southern Kirkuk front lines, told reporters that it was nothing more than "falsehoods and propaganda.”
He explained that Saaidiya village is 40 km away from Peshmerga front lines, and is northeast of Tikrit city in Salahaddin province. “The village has nothing to do with Kirkuk or southern Kirkuk.”
Rasul mentioned that following their investigation with Iraqi top military commanders, it turned out that the footage is old.
“The helicopters were Iraqis who were flying between Peshmerga and Hashd al-Shaabi, also known as Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) frontlines in southern Kirkuk. It was during a joint military offensive by the Iraqi forces in coordination with the US-led coalition in the area.”
He also rejected another rumor that the jihadist group is preparing to launch a large-scale attack on Peshmerga front lines in southern Kirkuk.
“When Da’esh [IS] was at the peak of its power in 2014, even with all the confiscated Iraqi heavy weapons and armored vehicles they had, couldn’t gain control of a single piece of territory in Kirkuk city. How would they be able to attack Peshmerga positions now, when their leader has disappeared, and the group lost most of its manpower and morale,” Rasul emphasized.
The Commander noted that the jihadist group had attacked Kirkuk and Peshmerga front lines over 17 times, but that all their attacks had been thwarted.
Editing by G.H. Renaud
