Suspected ISIS militants attack Iraqi army in Mahkmour

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – In a suspected ISIS attack on a village in Makhmour district on Friday overnight, at least an Iraqi army soldier was killed and several others were wounded, Kurdistan 24 has learned.

The ISIS members, suspected to be eight fighters, attacked Goptapa village and Alia Rash, where they killed an Iraqi soldier and wounded four others, sparking a fight between the militants and the army until early Saturday.

The attack came a day after the militants on Thursday night attacked a village in Diyala province with snipers and IEDs, resulting in 27 causalities.

Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Thursday condemned the attacks, reiterating the Region’s long-standing position that the threat of terrorism is not over.

The Iraqi army and Kurdistan Region Peshmerga forces on Friday conducted a joint operation near Mount Qarachoogh in a bid to fight the ISIS remnants.

Following the conclusion of the US-led Coalition's combat mission in late 2021, the Iraqi Air Force has increased its air campaign against the remnants of ISIS.

The terror group occupied approximately one-third of Iraq for nearly three years, including its second-largest city Mosul.

Since the group's self-styled caliphate was destroyed by Kurdish, Iraqi, and international forces, it has regrouped in remote parts of the country. It continues to carry out hit-and-run attacks against security forces and civilians.

The Kurdistan Region's Peshmerga forces regularly conduct joint operations with the Iraqi forces against ISIS in the so-called "disputed territories" between Erbil and Baghdad, where the group is most active.