Peshmerga assists Shia militia in defeating IS in Kirkuk

KIRKUK, Kurdistan Region (K24) – Islamic State (IS) militants attacked Iraqi Shia militia Hashd al-Shaabi from three front lines in Bashir and Tuz Khurmatu,in southern Kirkuk Province. Peshmerga forces helped the militia via its artilleries in defeat the extremist jihadists.

On Thursday, Peshmerga Commander in southern Kirkuk, Qadir Salim told K24 that in the morning, "extremists attacked Hashd al-Shaabi militia in Tuz Khurmatu and Bashir from three front lines."

He continued, "The IS attacks were quickly repelled by the militia with the help of Peshmerga forces' artilleries." Salim said, "A number of IS insurgents were killed, and Hashd al-Shaabi arrested many others.”
Salim also noted that there were "no casualties from Peshmerga and Hashd al-Shaabi side."
IS jihadists have launched a series of coordinated attacks along different fronts in the last few days, but all have been defeated by Peshmerga  and Iraqi forces and in coordination with US-coalition airstrikes.

On Thursday, the head of Anbar Provincial Council, Sabah Karhut stated in a press conference that "Seventy percent of Ramadi [in Anbar Province] has been cleared from Daesh [IS]."

He mentioned that Iraqi security forces, including counter-terrorism, federal police, and tribal forces participated in clearing the city.
Several months ago, Ramadi became occupied by IS militants, and there have been continuous clashes between Iraqi forces and militants in the area.
(Hassan Jum'a from Kirkuk contributed to the report)