Alwaght-Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces announced on Wednesday, that the joint forces managed to liberate several villages south of the northern province of Kirkuk as ISIS terrorists were forced to retreat after suffering heavy losses.
Major General Qadir Rasul, an official of the paramilitary Peshmerga force, said in an interview with Iraqi News website that, “the Peshmerga forces and the Anti-Terrorism force, have been able to liberate the villages of Albu-Najam and Tel al-Basel in Daquq district south of the province.”
Qadir added that, “our troops have achieved great victories, indicating that the liberation operations are ongoing in other areas.”
Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said in a statement that Peshmerga fighters launched their offensive at dawn on Wednesday with some 2,000 soldiers targeting the villages held by ISIS terrorist group on the south of the northern oil-rich city of Kirkuk.
The assault was carried out on the Daquq and Tuz Khormato frontlines with heavy artillery, including several tanks. At least 25 ISIS terrorists were killed during the attack.
According to KRG officials, the operation aims to eject ISIS terrorists from areas they occupied in Iraq’s Kurdistan region.
Kurdistan has a semi-autonomous government and its Peshmerga forces have been combating ISIS terrorists since the terror group launched its deadly campaign in June 2014.
Southern Kirkuk and the town of Hawija are regarded as the strongest bases of ISIS terrorists in Iraq outside Mosul.