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2025-02-20 Iraq
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Kurdish shepherd recounts suspected ISIS attack in Tuz Khurmatu
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[Rudaw] Peshmerga forces said Wednesday they thwarted an attack by the Islamic State
 ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS) sleeper cells in Salahaddin province’s disputed town of Tuz Khurmatu earlier in the day. Several shepherds were targeted by the armed individuals in the assault but were rescued by the Kurdish force. One of them recounted the attack.
"After a sleeper cell of the ISIS terrorist group launched a cowardly attack on several shepherds in the Tuz Khurmatu area, specifically around the villages of Duraji and Gharra, early this morning on Wednesday, a confrontation ensued," said Peshmerga ministry in a statement on its Facebook page.
The ministry added that upon being notified, it "immediately dispatched units to assist the shepherds and local residents. The forces successfully managed to return the shepherds safely to their areas while the Lions of Islam fled to an unknown location."
One of the shepherds told Rudaw that several armed individuals, whom he suspected were members of an ISIS sleeper cell, approached him and started speaking in broken Kurdish.
"They told me in Kurdish ’Come and do not be afraid.’ After this, I realized that they were from the group [ISIS]. I was carrying a gun. I hid behind a hill," Abbas Mohammed told Rudaw, adding that the gunnies started firing at him within a distance of 30 meters and he resisted until locals came to his aid.
"I had prepared myself to be either killed or fight back because they had previously taken some people and released them for ransom or killed them. I do not want to have the same fate," noted the Kurdish shepherd.
A Peshmerga commander told Rudaw earlier on Wednesday that three Kurdish shepherds, who were grazing their livestock, were surrounded by six ISIS Lions of Islam in Duraji village - which is administratively affiliated to Sulaimani province’s Garmiyan administration but geographically linked to Tuz Khurmatu.
"This is the land of our ancestors and we will not abandon it," Jassim Mohammed, another shepherd, said.
Many sheep were killed during the altercation but no villager was hurt.
Abbas' uncle said such attacks are frequent.
"We call on the KRG to somehow secure this area. They have not been indifferent but I hope they do more," Luqman Majeed said.
ISIS seized large swathes of territory in Iraq in 2014 but was militarily defeated in 2017 after three years of intense battles. Despite its defeat, the group continues to pose a security threat, particularly in disputed territories across several provinces, including Diyala, Kirkuk,
... a thick stew of Arabs, Turkmen, Kurds, and probably Antarcticans, all of them mutually hostile most of the time...
Nineveh, and Salahaddin.
Sulaimani-based security forces (Asayish) said late Wednesday that they had arrested two ISIS suspects in the vicinity of the city.
A Peshmerga commander told Rudaw that three Kurdish shepherds, who were grazing their livestock, were surrounded by six suspected ISIS militants in Duraji village, northwest of the district of Kifri, south of Sulaimani.
“The three shepherds were armed and resisted the ISIS militants. After an intense firefight, Peshmerga fighters and other security forces arrived to their rescue, and the ISIS militants fled the scene,” the commander explained. He added that “no casualties were reported in the clashes,” although “several livestock died due to the gunfight.”
The Peshmerga commander further noted that the rural area of Kifri district “has been a hotspot for ISIS militant activity,” and “the shepherds had ventured away from populated regions, so the militants seized the opportunity and attacked them.”
Kifri is part of Sulaimani’s Garmiyan administration and borders areas controlled by the Iraqi federal government. Both Erbil and Baghdad are working together to address the security vacuum between their areas of control to combat ISIS activities.
In early February, the Kifri district mayor told Rudaw that the joint deployment of Iraqi and Kurdish forces had helped curb ISIS activity in the area, which was once a hotbed of jihadist activity.
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Posted by trailing wife 2025-02-20 2025-02-20 01:14||
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