Start date August 1, 2014 | Result ISIL victory | |
14 killed (Kurdish claim) 100 killed, 38 captured (Kurdish claim) Combatants Islamic State of Iraq and t, Iraqi Kurdistan, United States of America Similar | ||
Battle of zumar
The Battle of Zumar was fought between the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and Kurdish Peshmerga troops over the city of Zumar in Nineveh province in northern Iraq. It started when ISIL launched an offensive on Zummar from 1–4 August 2014, resulting in its capture. On 25 October, after US airstrikes, Kurdish Peshmerga troops succeeded in recapturing the city, after an unsuccessful attempt to hold it in September.
Contents
- Battle of zumar
- Capture by ISIS
- Kurdish counteroffensive
- French air strikes on IS
- Kurdish recapture of Zumar
- References
Capture by ISIS
Beginning on August 1, 2014, ISIS attacked Kurdish Peshmerga positions in and around the city of Zumar. According to Kurdish sources, the initial advance of ISIS was repelled with some 100 jihadist militants and 14 Kurdish troops killed; 38 more ISIS jihadists were captured by Peshmerga. However, three days later, ISIS captured the town as well as its oil field.
Kurdish counteroffensive
On August 31, Kurdish Peshmerga troops entered Zumar. The Kurdish forces launched the offensive after capturing the Ain Zala oilfields just outside Zumar two days earlier. ISIL fighters torched three oil wells as they retreated from Ain Zala. The Peshmerga have been able to recapture several ISIL-controlled towns after receiving weaponry from the United States and other nations. As a result of the attack by Peshmerga forces on the Zumar, more than 92 ISIL militants have been killed and a further 160 taken to hospitals in Mosul with severe injuries. Kurdish forces were eventually forced to leave Zumar after enduring heavy losses.
French air strikes on IS
Qassim al-Moussawi, a spokesman for the Iraqi military, said on September 19, 2014 that four French air strikes with Dassault Rafale fighter aircraft, had hit the town of Zumar, killing dozens of militants, AP news agency reported.
Kurdish recapture of Zumar
On October 25, 2014, Kurdish forces launched an offensive on the town. ISIS forces put up fierce resistance, and launched a car bomb attack on Peshmerga forces. Iraqi television said that 50 ISIS fighters were killed and 10 vehicles destroyed. After 17 US airstrikes on the town, Kurdish forces took control of it. Their future goal is to regain control of nearby Sinjar, which was the scene of a massacre against Yazidi Kurds. The Daily Beast reported that American and German special forces were involved in coordinating airstrikes in Zumar; a report which The Pentagon denied.