ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Islamic State (ISIS) militants attacked Peshmerga forces in Kirkuk province’s Pirde (Altun Kupri) district on Saturday, reportedly killing two Peshmerga fighters, according to a statement from Kurdistan’s Directorate General of Counter Terrorism (CTD).
The attack by the militants happened at Zorgazraw region of Kirkuk’s Pirde district, around 40 kilometers northwest of Kirkuk, where two Peshmerga fighters were killed, according to the statement from CTD.
A statement from the Ministry of Peshmerga identified the two dead as Khalid Hameed and Ako Karim.
Nuri Hama Ali, a commander of the Peshmerga forces in Kirkuk told Rudaw over the phone that they are looking into the attack and resulting casualties.
A Peshmerga told Rudaw on the condition of anonymity that a number of Peshmerga have been injured in the attack.
Peshmerga forces have faced ISIS attacks previously in Kirkuk. ISIS militants in May attacked a position of Peshmerga fighters in Kirkuk province, killing three Kurdish forces and wounding two others.
ISIS seized control of swaths of land in Iraq in 2014. The group was declared territorially defeated in 2017, but it continues to carry out bombings, hit-and-run attacks, and abductions across several provinces. ISIS remnants are particularly active in parts of northern Iraq that are disputed by Erbil and Baghdad, including in the provinces of Kirkuk, Diyala and Salahaddin.
