ISIS attacks Iraqi army points in Makhmur

The Iraqi army responded to ISIS militants and forced them to flee the area.

Kurdistan 24 2022/12/04 22:30

A Peshmerga outpost near Makhmur, Oct 24, 2022. (Wladimir van Wilgenburg/Kurdistan 24).

Kurdistan makhmur Iraqi Army ISIS Peshmerga

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Rizgar Muhammed, the mayor of Makhmur town, a town in Erbil Governorate, told Kurdistan 24 that Islamic State (ISIS) militants attacked the Iraqi army on the outskirts of Makhmur on Sunday.

The attack was carried out on the slopes of Mount Qarachogh, the mayor said.

The Iraqi army responded to ISIS militants and forced them to flee the area, he added.

No casualties have been recorded so far, Muhammed confirmed.

Makhmur is a Kurdish-majority city, which locates 68 kilometers south of Erbil.

Since October 16, 2017, the city was controlled by Iraqi and Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), which resulted in the displacement of many of its Kurdish population.

Before 2017, Kurdish Peshmerga forces were present in Makhmur.

Since then ISIS militants have operated from tunnels and hideouts in Mount Qarachogh.

The US-led coalition has pushed for more Iraqi-Kurdish cooperation against ISIS, but so far the establishment of joint brigades have been stalled due to a lack of budget from Baghdad.

Peshmerga forces also regularly launch operations against ISIS militants near Mount Qarachogh.