SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Two civilians were killed in an attack by Islamic State (ISIS) militants near Makhmour in southwest of Erbil late on Thursday, Esta Media Network said.
Esta’s reporter said the militants attacked Khidrja and Lawaryan villages near Makhmour on Thursday night.
Two civilians were killed and another was wounded in the attack on Khidrja village in Dibaga sub-district, the reporter added.
The village is located in the foothills of Qarachogh mountain.
At least 35 people have been killed and 39 others have been wounded in the attacks on Makhmour district.
Earlier on Thursday, Peshmerga forces thwarted an ISIS attack in Makhmour, killing one militant and wounding two others, according to Peshmerga commanders.
The attack came after the militants carried out three separate attacks against the Kurdish forces in the Garmian administration last week.
Seven members of the Peshmerga forces were killed in the attack, according to authorities.
ISIS militants have increased attacks against the Iraqi and Kurdish forces in the disputed areas claimed by both Erbil and Baghdad.
Earlier this month, the militants carried out two attacks against the Peshmerga forces in the disputed areas.
On October 31, two members of the Peshmerga forces were killed in another ISIS attack near Prde, south of Erbil.
The Peshmerga ministry said the militants continued to use a security gap between the Iraqi and Kurdish forces to attack the Peshmerga.
Iraq declared victory over Islamic State in December 2017 but the militants have regrouped in the Hamrin mountain range which extends into the northern provinces – an area described by officials as a “triangle of death”.
