Battle of Zumar

{{Short description|Battle between the Islamic State and the Kurdistan Autonomous Region forces}}

{{Infobox military conflict

| conflict = Battle of Zumar

| partof = the Northern Iraq offensive (August 2014)

| image =

| caption =

| date = 1 August – 25 October 2014 (2 months, 3 weeks and 3 days)

| place = Zummar subdistrict, Nineveh Province, Iraq

| result = Peshmerga victory

Peshmerga counterattack successful

| combatant1 = {{flag|Kurdistan Region}}

Peshmerga

Air support:

{{Flag|France|1974}} https://www.bernerzeitung.ch/franzoesische-jets-greifen-is-ziele-im-irak-an-854118014099

| combatant2 = {{flag|Islamic State}}

| commander1 = Unknown

| commander2 = {{flagicon|Islamic State}} Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi{{cite web |last = Al-Tamimi |first = Aymenn |author-link = Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi | url=https://www.meforum.org/64807/a-brief-biography-of-abu-ibrahim-al-hashimi-al | title=A Brief Biography of Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi: The Islamic State's Second Caliph | publisher=Middle East Forum | date = 11 September 2023 | access-date= 23 September 2023 }}

| strength1 = 300-500 (estimation)

| strength2 = 2,000 (estimation)

| casualties1 = 14 killed

| casualties2 = 100 killed
38 captured

| casualties3 =

}}

The Battle of Zumar was fought between the Islamic State 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. On 25 October, after US airstrikes, Kurdish Peshmerga troops succeeded in recapturing the city, after an unsuccessful attempt to hold it in September.{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-kurds-idUSKCN0IE0EQ20141025|title=Kurdish forces retake north Iraqi town from Islamic State|work=Reuters|date=25 October 2014|access-date=2017-06-30|archive-date=2015-10-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151010192551/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/25/us-iraq-kurds-idUSKCN0IE0EQ20141025|url-status=live}}

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.{{cite web|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/08/02/Army-Jihadists-kill-30-in-fighting-south-of-Baghdad-.html|title=Jihadists kill dozens as Iraq fighting rages|date=2 August 2014|publisher=English.alarabiya.net|access-date=16 October 2014}} However, three days later, IS captured the town as well as its oil field.{{cite web|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/08/03/Islamic-States-captures-Iraqi-town-and-nearby-oil-field-.html|title=IS takes over Iraq's biggest dam|date=3 August 2014|publisher=English.alarabiya.net|access-date=16 October 2014}}{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/04/world/middleeast/iraq.html|title= Sunni Extremists in Iraq Seize 3 Towns From Kurds and Threaten Major Dam|newspaper=The New York Times|date= 3 August 2014|access-date=16 October 2014|last1= Arango|first1= Tim}} 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.

Aftermath

=Kurdish counteroffensive=

On 31 August Kurdish Peshmerga troops entered Zumar. The Kurdish forces launched the offensive after capturing the Ain Zalah oilfields just outside Zumar two days earlier.{{cite web|url=http://rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/30082014|title=Peshmerga, IS Battle for Zumar|work=Rudaw|access-date=16 October 2014}} IS fighters torched three oil wells as they retreated from Ain Zalah. 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.{{cite web|title=92 IS Militants Killed in Zumar|url=http://basnews.com/en/News/Details/92-IS-Militants-Killed-in-Zumar/32490 |access-date=September 9, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006123900/http://basnews.com/en/News/Details/92-IS-Militants-Killed-in-Zumar/32490 |archive-date=October 6, 2014 }} 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 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.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29277630|title=BBC News - France launches first air strikes on IS in Iraq|work=BBC News|date=19 September 2014|access-date=16 October 2014}}{{cite web |url= http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/09/19/Hollande-First-French-airstrike-destroys-depot-of-IS-in-Iraq-.html|title=First French Airstrike Destroys Depot of IS in Irag|date=19 September 2014|publisher=English.alarabiya.net|access-date=16 October 2014}}

=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.{{Cite news|url = http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/10/IS-pounded-as-iraqi-kurd-forces-advance-20141025121720116346.html|title = IS pounded as Iraqi and Kurd forces advance|date = October 25, 2014|work = Al Jazeera}} 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.{{cite news |last=Sypher |first=Ford |date=2 September 2015 |title=Are American Troops Already Fighting on the Front Lines in Iraq? |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/09/02/are-american-troops-already-fighting-on-the-front-lines-in-iraq.html |newspaper=The Daily Beast |location=United States |access-date=6 March 2015 }}