The operations launched by the Kurdish forces to terminate ISIS presence in South Kurdistan continue. In an operation launched in Kirkuk this morning, many villages to the south west of the town have been liberated from the gangs while fierce clashes are taking part around the Beshir district in the south.

In a press conference regarding the visit of Iraqi President to the city and the outcomes of the discussions they held with security forces, Kirkuk Governor Necmeddin Kerim said that “We will protect the villages in the south of Kirkuk too.”

Kurdish forces have launched a large scale operation in Beshir area of Taze Xurmantu district of Kirkuk at 07:30 this morning.

According to the initial reports, Shia al-Hashed al-Shabi militia are also taking part in the operation in the southern side. It has been reported that a number of villages in the south of Kirkuk have been taken under control by the Kurdish forces in the scope of the ongoing operation.

Westa Resul, the spokesperson of South Kirkuk 4. Front, said the Kurdish forces well prepared for the operation were advancing rapidly, adding that the ISIS gangs had to flee away from many villages as they suffered heavy losses.

Resul said their initial targets in the first phase have been the villages of Qere Yall, Şêx Sener, Şêx Fayzu Humeyriye, adding that they aimed to take control of Humertiye as well, and thus to drive the gangs 7 km away from the positions they occupied before the operation.

It has been reported that 70. Peshmerga General Forces have so far liberated a large area involving the villages of Qereyal, Şêx Sener and Şêx Fayêz, while Yermuk and Seyid settlements have also been cleansed of the gangs.

The peshmarga forces in the region are reported to be continuing their advance in the area during the ongoing clashes.