How Islamic State Wanted to Capture Kurdish town of Gwer near Erbil?

How Islamic State Wanted to Capture Kurdish town of Gwer near Erbil?

How Islamic State Wanted to Capture Kurdish town of Gwer?

Gwer Town is approximately 60km away from the capital of Kurdistan Region - Erbil.
Kurdish security forces from Erbil took the initial stand against Islamic State (ISIL) militants in Gwer on Friday night, until the back up forces arrived in the form of the Peshmerga.

“Recently, the Iraqi army was deployed in the Khadhir area to bolster security the region, but early Saturday morning, they retreated from an ISIL attack without informing Peshmerga forces, leading to the ISIL advance on Gwer. Subsequently Erbil security forces fought ISIL militants and prevented them from advancing further until the Peshmerga arrived.

We understands from commanders on the frontline that when ISIL militants crossed Khadhir river by boat, Iraqi army forces left the frontline and withdrew without stopping at Erbil security checkpoints. This led to the insurgents entering Gwer. The Kurdish security police fought alone until 4:00 am when Peshmerga forces arrived in the area to support them.

“We have the bodies of 38 ISIL insurgents. They appear not to be Iraqis, but foreigners.”