ISIS launches attack against Peshmerga and PMF in Kirkuk

Iraqi forces found a cache of weapons and explosives in a security operation Karma district east of Anbar province, while the force of the tribal crowd, and with the support of the International Alliance, to reach the junction of Ana Rauh west of Ramadi.

However, the Presidency of the Kurdistan region that US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had a telephone call with the President of the region Massoud Barzani, asking him to postpone the referendum.

Kurdish Peshmerga forces repelled an ISIS attack in a confrontation that lasted several hours Friday night south of Kirkuk. Colonel Aso Faraj of the 9th infantry brigade told Rudaw that a group of ISIS militants attacked Peshmerga positions on two fronts near the Rukhana village.

Col. Faraj did not report any casualties on their side, saying that the Peshmerga managed to stop ISIS from taking the village or advancing into Kurdish territories. South of Kirkuk has been an active front line between Peshmerga and ISIS in the last three years.

On July 26 militants launched a surprise attack against the Alud Pasha village where they killed four Kakeis, three of whom were members of one family. Peshmerga forces are heavily present in the area but a force of 500 Kakeis formed in 2015 is also in charge of many villages though they report they are not capable of maintaining full security on their own.

In the same context, Eleven Islamic State militants were killed, while two others were arrested in a joint military operation in Anbar desert, the Defense Ministry’s War Media Cell declared.

Jazeera Operations Command, along with the Tribal Mobilization Forces carried out two military operations from two directions,” the WMC said in a statement on Thursday. “The first direction started from the desert toward Anah town. Troops reached to three kilometers away from Anah. The second direction started from the desert toward Anah then to the main road reaching to Rawa town. Troops reached to three kilometers away from Rawa.”

“Eleven militants were killed, three motorbikes, a booby-trapped vehicle, booby-trapping workshop and three rest houses were destroyed. Twenty-two bombs were defused, while two IS members were arrested,” the statement added indicating that the operations lasted for two days.

Earlier on the day, news reports said fifteen paramilitary personnel of al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Units) were killed as IS militants attacked defense line in Okashat region in western Anbar.

Anbar’s western towns of Anah, Qaim and Rawa are still held by the extremist group since 2014, when it occupied one third of Iraq to proclaim a self-styled Islamic Caliphate. Iraqi troops were able to return life back to normal in the biggest cities of Anbar including Fallujah, Ramadi and others after recapturing them.