ISIS Surprise Attack: 26 Iraqi Kurdish Forces Killed

Islamic State jihadist terrorist forces have caught Kurdish forces off guard in the Gwer area of north Iraq, killing 26 of the Kurdish fighters, security officials said Saturday. The Islamic State’s attack was reportedly intended as a surprise attack and its successful execution was a sad blow to the hard fighting Kurds and Iraqis that have otherwise been mostly successful in recent fighting against the ISIS Islamic Terrorists.

Different reports make it unclear whether the ISIS attack was launched late Friday or early Saturday, according to Yahoo News.

The ISIS terrorist militants reportedly began the attack by crossing the Zab river in boats, storming the shore and occupying Gwer, which is approximately 25 miles southwest of the Kurdish regional capital city of Arbil. ISIS militants maintained the offensive for about an hour, resulting in the Kurdish casualties, before a counter-offensive was able to turn the tide and push the ISIS attack back, said the officials.

“It was unexpected,” said Peshmerga Brigadier General, Hajar Ismail, reflecting on how the ISIS militants were able to pull off their surprise attack by crossing the Zab river in boats.

The Islamic State (IS), also known as ISIS and ISIL, has been launching attacks across Iraq and Syria since June, taking over large areas of land in both countries while terrorizing villages in the name of their extreme form of Islamic rule, murdering and torturing thousands, including many women and children.

The surprise Islamic militant attack on Gwer is among the single deadliest attacks suffered by Kurdish forces since ISIS militants began their offensives and quest to establish their brutal version of an Islamic State.

According to the deputy head of the Asayesh for Arbilthe, Barzan Qassab, the 26 Kurdish forces killed belonged to the Kurdish Asayesh Security Forces. The number of 26 Kurdish fighters killed was also confirmed by an additional Asayesh source.

Other fighters also lost their lives in the ISIS surprise attack on Gwer, reportedly members of the Peshmerga main security forces. Peshmerga is an autonomous Kurdish region that has been heavily involved in the fight against ISIS.

A Kurdish security source told Xinhua that the Islamic terrorist ISIS militants attacked Kurdish positions on nine fronts and that the surprise attack unfolded early Saturday morning.

The Kurdish source also included that the ISIS militants reached Gwer via crossing the Tigris river as well as the Zab.

While the ISIS attack did include many Kurdish losses, 45 IS militants were also killed in the fighting, according to the source.

[Image via the Associated Press]