More than 60 IS militants killed in battle against Peshmerga in northern Iraq
More than 60 Islamic State militants were killed battling Kurdish forces in the northern part of Iraq over the weekend.
According to Mail Online, spokesman for the Kurdistan Democratic Party's Foreign Relations Office said on Sunday that the ISIS attacked Peshmerga frontlines overnight in the village of Sultan Abdullah, but were defeated.
The Peshmerga, the other name for the Kurdish militia forces, have their headquarters in the town.
"The terrorists [Islamic State] launched overnight attacks on our units in three areas. (But) the Peshmerga forces confronted them strongly and with extermination," the party spokesman said, and added that this was so far the eighth attempt by the Islamic State to overwhelm the Peshmerga forces.
"This was the eighth attack by terrorists [of its kind], and each one has had worse luck than its predecessor," he said.
According to the Mail Online, the Islamic State also carried out other attacks on Sultan Abdullah and the Makhmour front before Sunday's assault, but were defeated in each attempt.
"'In each case the militants were defeated, and repulsed in such a way they reportedly left behind 60 bodies," the party official noted.
The Peshmerga website reported at least 50 bodies of jihadists were seen along one front of the fighting after Sunday's assault.
Peshmerga fighters have recently seen successes in the battle against the Islamic State. In late January, the Iraqi Kurdish forces aided the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units in reclaiming 90 per cent of the town of Kobani from the Islamic State with air support from the United States-led coalition. They are currently defending the strategic town of Kirkuk in southern Iraq after Iraqi army units abandoned the city in June last year.
According to The Guardian, Peshmerga fighters have also recovered the Mosul dam, which supplies all of Iraq's water needs, from the Islamic State.
Three brigades of Kurdish forces are set to join the 25,000-strong military force being assembled by the United States to make a major offensive against the ISIS in the near future.
