Eight IS militants killed in Peshmerga attack on Makhmour hideout
Representational photo.
Baghdad (Iraqinews.com) Eight Islamic State militants were killed in an attack by Peshmerga fighters on a mountainous area in Makhmour city, field sources told Basnews on Tuesday.
“A Peshmerga force stormed a hideout of Islamic State remnants near Qarachogh Mountain in Makhmur town, south west of Erbil, killing eight IS militants,” the sources said.
“The four-hour attack was launched at 1:30 pm (local time),” the sources said, adding that the IS terrorists were hiding inside a cave in the mountain.
Earlier in the day, a Kurdish commander told Rudaw that a fighting had erupted between Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and an IS group near Makhmour.
Iraq announced the total defeat of Islamic State in the country earlier this month after driving out the last pockets of the extremist group near the Syrian border.
The Iraqi forces and the Iranian-backed al-Hashd al-Shaabi took control of Makhmour in mid-October following a military incursion into the disputed Kurdish areas claimed by both Erbil and Baghdad.
Kurds voted overwhelmingly to break away from Iraq in a referendum held on Sept. 25, defying the central government in Baghdad as well as neighboring Turkey and Iran who have their own Kurdish minorities.
Last month, the Supreme Federal Court issued a verdict considering Kurdistan’s independence referendum “unconstitutional”.
The court also cancelled all results of the controversial vote, which sparked outrage between Baghdad and Erbil.