Five Islamic State fighters launched a massive attack on a base in Kirkuk, Iraq on Sunday, killing two Iraqi soldiers, and wounding multiple others. Two of the attackers were killed in the suicide bomb blast, while the remaining three were killed when Peshmerga fighters engaged them while U.S. advisors called in airstrikes to repel the attack. Coalition spokesman Col. John Dorrian said that while coalition troops are not stationed in the area surrounding the attack, they were present when it occurred.
“Airstrikes were called in to help defeat the IS attack, and a number of aircraft responded and decimated the enemy,” he said.
According to Reuters, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack. The group said in a statement that it had killed and wounded dozens of “crusaders and apostates.”
Iraqi forces are finishing the arduous task of pushing the remaining pockets of ISIS fighters from Mosul, an operation they launched in October of 2016 with the aid of U.S. and coalition forces. ISIS has grown desperate at the quick and effective tactics used by Iraqi Security Forces and Peshmerga fighters and launched a campaign of terror attacks as they retreat into Syria to defend their last stronghold in Raqqa.
