| Battle of Kirkuk (2014) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theNorthern Iraq offensive (June 2014) during theWar in Iraq (2013–2017) | |||||||
 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Kurdistan Region Kurdistan Workers' Party CJTF–OIR(air support) |
 Iraq (Just one day) | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Masoud Barzani(President of Iraqi Kurdistan) Shirko Rauf(Brigadier General) Sherko Fatih Shwani(Major General) |  Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi(Self-declared "Caliph" of ISIL) | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| |||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Many killed and injured | Hundreds killed and injured | ||||||
| At least 17 civilians killed and more than 20 injured in a ISILcar bombing[2] | |||||||
In theBattle of Kirkuk (2014) theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) launched a series offensives againstPeshmerga forces inKirkuk city and its surrounding areas, which lasted from July 2014 to November 2014.
In May 2013, Peshmerga fighters took up positions on the outskirts of Kirkuk afterIraqi security forces (ISF) were redeployed elsewhere to deal withSunni militants.[3]
On 10 June 2014, ISIL andJRTN forces captured the second biggest city in Iraq,Mosul, after a6-day battle in the city.[3]
On 17 June 2014, ISIL forces started an offensive with intent to capture Kirkuk. Soon after, the group attacked the village ofBashir 15 km south of Kirkuk city, where they clashed with local gunmen and police forces, assisted by the Peshmerga. After an hour of fighting the militants captured the village, leaving a senior Kurdish police brigadier wounded and six of his bodyguards killed.[4] After taking control of the village ISIL massacred 52Shi’aTurkmens.[5]
With Bashir captured, ISIL moved forward and temporarily captured two sub-districts of the Kirkuk city: one in the west of it (Multaqa sub-district) and one in the south (Taza sub-district). Later that day, Peshmerga forces, with support ofU.S.-led Coalition airstrikes, recaptured both sub-districts.[5]
On 18 June, ISIL launched another offensive toward Kirkuk, this time targeting the northern part of the city and attempting to seize its oil fields. However, Peshmerga forces successfully repelled the attack and defended the city.[6]
At the end of July, theBadr Organization recruited Shi’a Turkmen locals to recapture the village of Bashir in an attempted counter-offensive, which ultimately failed.[5]
In December, ISIS claimed responsibility for a suicide car bomb attack on Kirkuk that killed at least 17 people and injured more than 20. The attack, according to ISIS, was meant to send a message to the Kurdish people and Peshmerga fighters.[2]
On the nights of 29 January and 30 January, ISIL attacked Kirkuk once again, leading to a newbattle.
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