Breaking News - Oct. 20, 2017, 1:30 PM 1

Breaking News - Oct. 20, 2017, 1:30 PM 1

Currently there is an outbreak of heavy military conflict in Perde, a mixed population township of Kurds and Turkemen, 55km north of Kirkuk, Iraq. The Iraqi army attacked Perde using heavy weapons and has taken control of it. According to accounts of Perde eye witnesses, Hashd Al Shaabi fighters are wearing Iraqi army uniforms. The Iraqi army has now advanced to a position 5 km north of Perde. Peshmerga forces withdrew and have taken up their defensive position at a trading center named Sherava. Peshmerga forces from Erbil are en route to this position to offer resistance.

There are dead and wounded military on both sides. A total of eight M1 Abram tanks and Hummer cars from the Iraqi government forces are broken down.

by Ali Javanmardi, independent journalist, Kurdistan Iraq