Peshmerga forces attacked with rockets on Erbil-Kirkuk border: sources
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Peshmerga forces in Pirde (Altun Kupri) town, Kirkuk province came under attack late Friday, according to a commander and Kurdistan Region’s counter-terrorism forces. No casualties have been reported.
Nuri Hama Ali, a Peshmerga commander in Pirde, told Rudaw that a number of rockets were directed at Peshmerga bases in the district but none of them hit their target and did not cause any casualties.
Kurdistan Region’s counter-terrorism units also reported the attack, saying “eight Katyusha rockets landed near Fifth Front [of Peshmerga] in Pirde, Kirkuk without causing material damage or casualties.”
Peshmerga ministry confirmed that the attack did not cause any losses, saying that they have launched an investigation into the incident.
#Breaking
— Ministry of Peshmerga (@KRG_MOPE) January 7, 2022
Today 07:25 p.m, a number of missiles were directed at Peshmerga barricades & spots in the east & south of the (Altun Kopri) prde district in sector 5, luckily there was no casualties or damage to #peshmergaforces. pic.twitter.com/SrmBbA0t54
Pirde district is about 40 kilometres northwest of Kirkuk. Peshmerga forces have been targeted by the Islamic State (ISIS) there several times late last year. Over 20 members of Peshmerga forces were killed as a result of the assaults.
A Peshmerga fighter was shot and injured by an unidentified gunman in Kirkuk on Friday.
ISIS killed two Peshmerga fighters, Khalid Hameed and Ako Karim, on October 30 in Pirde’s Zorgazraw area.
The terror group seized control of swaths of land in Iraq in 2014. It was declared territorially defeated in 2017, but continues to carry out bombings, hit-and-run attacks, and abductions across several provinces. It is especially active in parts of northern Iraq that are disputed by Erbil and Baghdad, including in the provinces of Kirkuk, Diyala and Salahaddin.
Iraqi security forces arrested seven ISIS suspects in Kirkuk on Friday, according to Security Media Cell which claimed that they “confessed” to have committed crime in Kirkuk and Anbar provinces.