Militants launched a mortar attack on Islah village, near Kifri, injuring two women, according to commander of the Garmaser front Mahmood Sangawi. Kifri is administered by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) but is part of the swathes of territory disputed between Erbil and Baghdad.
ISIS also attacked Iraqi forces, injuring two of their ranks, Sangawi added.
ISIS takes advantage of a lack of coordination between Peshmerga and Iraqi forces in often rugged areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad. Militants have conducted around 134 attacks in disputed territories so far this year, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Peshmerga Jabar Yawar told Rudaw on Monday, noting that most of the attacks took place in areas between Kifri and Tuz Khurmatu, as well as in eastern and western Kirkuk.
On Tuesday, the group claimed responsibility for an attack on a village in southwest Kirkuk. It used rocket-propelled grenades (RPG), according to villagers, killing at least 25 cows and seven sheep and goats, and burning five cars and tractors and two houses.
Baghdad and Erbil are working to close the security gap. This summer, they established four joint coordination centres in the disputed provinces to improve their cooperation and they are in talks to create joint brigades.
Reporting by Sirwan Abbas
