Peshmerga push back ISIS assault on Mount Shingal

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdish forces defeated a large band of ISIS fighters who attacked Peshmerga positions on Mount Shingal early on Friday, officials told Rudaw.

“About 50 Daesh gunmen attacked Peshmerga bases west of Shingal Mountain. Our forces repelled the gunmen after hours of fighting,” said Ibrahim Murad, a Peshmerga officer in the area, using Arabic acronym for ISIS.

No causalities were reported on Peshmerga side but, according to Murad, dozens of Islamic State fighters were killed during the battle.

Shingal police chief Qassim Sumo confirmed that Kurdish forces with air support from the US-led coalition had forced ISIS to retreat in a counter-attack.

In other developments, a bombing attack struck police during a search for ISIS fighters in the Kurdish town of Khanaqin early on Friday, leaving at least four Kurdish officers wounded.