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BAGHDAD
Five members of Peshmerga, the Kurdish security forces, were killed in an overnight attack by the militants of the IS group in northeastern Iraq, a Kurdish security official said on Sunday.
Azad al-Dalawi, an officer from the Peshmerga, said a group of IS militants attacked late on Saturday night a Kurdish security base in the Kolajo area in the northern part of Diyala province, sparking a fierce clash between the two sides that lasted until dawn on Sunday.
The Peshmerga soldiers finally managed to repel the assailants, said al-Dalawi.
The clash resulted in the killing of five Peshmerga members and the wounding of five others, along with the destruction of a military vehicle, al-Dalawi added.
He said that reinforcements from the Kurdish forces arrived at the scene and launched a search campaign in the area looking for IS militants.
After the attack, Nechirvan Barzani, president of the KRG, offered his condolences and called for further regional cooperation to defeat remnants of the armed group.“I am deeply saddened by the news of the martyrdom of a group of Peshmerga heroes last night while they were providing assistance to their colleagues in the Kolajo region,” said Barzani in a statement.
“The proliferation of IS’s atrocities is a new and terrifying message, and brings a serious threat to the region. There is, therefore, an urgent need for greater cooperation and coordination between the Peshmerga and the Iraqi army with the support of the international allied forces.”
IS took a swath of land in Iraq and Syria in 2014. Following a series of bloody offensives against it, the group lost its territorial control and was effectively defeated in 2017.
However, having changed its strategies, IS still poses a threat in several provinces in Iraq with hit-and-run attacks, kidnappings, and roadside bombs.
Last month, IS killed nearly a dozen civilians in an attack in Diyala, stirring up a concerning series of sectarian violence.
The Peshmerga, one of the forces that were central in defeating the group, have recently faced rising confrontations with IS.
BAGHDAD
Five members of Peshmerga, the Kurdish security forces, were killed in an overnight attack by the militants of the IS group in northeastern Iraq, a Kurdish security official said on Sunday.
Azad al-Dalawi, an officer from the Peshmerga, said a group of IS militants attacked late on Saturday night a Kurdish security base in the Kolajo area in the northern part of Diyala province, sparking a fierce clash between the two sides that lasted until dawn on Sunday.
The Peshmerga soldiers finally managed to repel the assailants, said al-Dalawi.
The clash resulted in the killing of five Peshmerga members and the wounding of five others, along with the destruction of a military vehicle, al-Dalawi added.
He said that reinforcements from the Kurdish forces arrived at the scene and launched a search campaign in the area looking for IS militants.
After the attack, Nechirvan Barzani, president of the KRG, offered his condolences and called for further regional cooperation to defeat remnants of the armed group.“I am deeply saddened by the news of the martyrdom of a group of Peshmerga heroes last night while they were providing assistance to their colleagues in the Kolajo region,” said Barzani in a statement.
“The proliferation of IS’s atrocities is a new and terrifying message, and brings a serious threat to the region. There is, therefore, an urgent need for greater cooperation and coordination between the Peshmerga and the Iraqi army with the support of the international allied forces.”
IS took a swath of land in Iraq and Syria in 2014. Following a series of bloody offensives against it, the group lost its territorial control and was effectively defeated in 2017.
However, having changed its strategies, IS still poses a threat in several provinces in Iraq with hit-and-run attacks, kidnappings, and roadside bombs.
Last month, IS killed nearly a dozen civilians in an attack in Diyala, stirring up a concerning series of sectarian violence.
The Peshmerga, one of the forces that were central in defeating the group, have recently faced rising confrontations with IS.
