SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Peshmerga forces thwarted an Islamic State (ISIS) attack on Garmaser-Kifri frontline on Friday, the ministry said.
In a statement, the Peshmerga ministry said ISIS militants carried out a “coward attack” against a military point of the Kurdish forces on the Garmaser-Kifri frontline at 08:00 p.m. on Friday.
“The attack was responded severely and quickly by the Peshmerga forces,” it added.
There were no casualties, it added.
It was the third such attack on the Peshmerga forces in the disputed territories, claimed by both Baghdad and Erbil.
On Wednesday, the Peshmerga forces repelled another ISIS attack near Prde in south of Erbil.
Two members of the Peshmerga forces were killed in another attack in the area on Sunday.
The Peshmerga ministry said the militants continued to use the security gap between the Iraqi and Kurdish forces to attack the Peshmerga.
On Thursday, U.S.-led Coalition forces said continued ISIS attacks stress the importance of joint forces between the Iraqi and Kurdish forces.
“Daesh attacks in the disputed areas continue to emphasizing the importance of the joint force brigades,” Deputy Director MAG-North Col. Todd Burroughs said in a tweet.
Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said on Sunday that the ISIS attack on the Peshmerga forces reaffirmed the importance of continued coordination between Erbil and Baghdad.
The Iraqi military and the Kurdish forces have been working to form two joint brigades to protect the disputed territories from ISIS attacks.
Burroughs confirmed in the tweet on Thursday that the Iraqi and Kurdish forces were working “diligently to form and train these brigades” to defeat ISIS.
In an official document signed by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, the premier authorized the registration of the 20th Brigade of the Peshmerga forces within the structure of the Iraqi defense ministry so as to form joint forces for the disputed areas.
Kurdish officials have repeatedly warned that ISIS militants are using a “security vacuum” between the Iraqi and Kurdish forces to carry out attacks in the disputed territories.
To fill the gaps, the Iraqi military and Peshmerga forces established four joint operation rooms in Khanaqin, Makhmour, Kirkuk and Mosul to exchange information and launch joint operations against the militants.
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”.
