| Battle of Zumar | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Northern Iraq offensive (August 2014) | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Unknown | Amir Mohammed Abdul Rahman al-Mawli al-Salbi[1] | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| unknown | unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
14 killed (Kurdish claim) 281 killed (IS claim) |
100 killed 38 captured (Kurdish claim) | ||||||
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 IS launched an offensive on Zummar from 1–4 August 2014, resulting in its capture.[2][3] On 25 October, after US airstrikes, Kurdish Peshmerga troops succeeded in recapturing the city, after an unsuccessful attempt to hold it in September.[4]
Capture by IS
Beginning on 1 August 2014, IS attacked Kurdish Peshmerga positions in and around the city of Zumar. According to Kurdish sources, the initial advance of IS was repelled with some 100 jihadist militants and 14 Kurdish troops killed; 38 more IS jihadists were captured by Peshmerga.[5] However, three days later, IS captured the town as well as its oil field.[2][3] The victorious IS force was reportedly led by Amir Mohammed Abdul Rahman al-Mawli al-Salbi, one of the group's ministers and a deputy to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.[1]
Aftermath
Kurdish counteroffensive
On 31 August Kurdish Peshmerga troops entered Zumar. The Kurdish forces launched the offensive after capturing the Ain Zala oilfields just outside Zumar two days earlier.[6] IS fighters torched three oil wells as they retreated from Ain Zala. The Peshmerga have been able to recapture several IS-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 IS militants have been killed and a further 160 taken to hospitals in Mosul with severe injuries.[7] Kurdish forces were eventually forced to leave Zumar after enduring heavy losses.[4]
French air strikes on IS
Qassim al-Moussawi, a spokesman for the Iraqi military, said on 19 September 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.[8][9]
Kurdish recapture of Zumar
On 25 October 2014, Kurdish forces launched an offensive on the town. IS forces put up fierce resistance, and launched a car bomb attack on Peshmerga forces. Iraqi television said that 50 IS fighters were killed and 10 vehicles destroyed.[10] After seventeen 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.[11]
References
- 1 2 Al-Tamimi, Aymenn (11 September 2023). "A Brief Biography of Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi: The Islamic State's Second Caliph". Middle East Forum. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
- 1 2 "IS takes over Iraq's biggest dam". English.alarabiya.net. 3 August 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
- 1 2 "Sunni Extremists in Iraq Seize 3 Towns From Kurds and Threaten Major Dam". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
- 1 2 "Kurdish forces retake north Iraqi town from Islamic State". Reuters. 25 October 2014. Archived from the original on 2015-10-10. Retrieved 2017-06-30.
- ↑ "Jihadists kill dozens as Iraq fighting rages". English.alarabiya.net. 2 August 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
- ↑ "Peshmerga, IS Battle for Zumar". Rudaw. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
- ↑ "92 IS Militants Killed in Zumar". Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
- ↑ "BBC News - France launches first air strikes on IS in Iraq". BBC News. 19 September 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
- ↑ "First French Airstrike Destroys Depot of IS in Irag". English.alarabiya.net. 19 September 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
- ↑ "IS pounded as Iraqi and Kurd forces advance". Al Jazeera. October 25, 2014.
- ↑ Sypher, Ford (2 September 2015). "Are American Troops Already Fighting on the Front Lines in Iraq?". The Daily Beast. United States. Retrieved 6 March 2015.