Peshmerga fighter kills Islamic State militant

ERBIL, Kurdistan (K24) – A Peshmerga fighter went in hand-to-hand combat with an Islamic State (IS) militant who tried to behead him.

Hemin Ali Harki, a Kurdish Peshmerga in the tenth Brigade, joined by his uncles and cousins, decided to end his vacation and go back to the frontlines to fight IS after hearing about the Islamic State attack in Khazir.

Sitting in a wheelchair in one of the hospitals of Khabat district in Erbil province where he gets his daily medical checkup, Harki told K24, “We went inside the village of Tel Ward in Khazir front line with Peshmerga forces, clashes erupted between Peshmerga and IS militants, in the first 20 minutes, my uncle and cousin were martyred.”

“I was in one of the corridors of the village when I encountered an IS militant, we exchanged fire and both of us got injured, then we attacked each other in hand-to-hand combat. Both of us fell down on the ground, then he put the knife on my neck, but I stopped him, then I grabbed his weapon and fired a shot into his chest and he fell dead,” Harki said.

Despite losing some of their relatives, Harki’s brother, speaking to K24 with tears in his eyes, said, “We are very proud of him, although I saw my uncle and cousin got martyred.”

“It’s unfortunate to see Peshmerga get martyred in the hands of these terrorists,” Harki’s brother added.

On December 17, Peshmerga forces repelled several IS attacks across Newaran, Bashiq, Tel Eswad, Khazir and Zerdk Mountain. According to Kurdistan Region Security Council “70 Islamic State (IS) terrorists have been killed in major coordinated attacks.”