A Kurdish peshmerga member at the site of an attack by Daesh militants in Kirkuk on Oct. 21. ( AKO RASHEED / REUTERS ) Kurdish peshmerga gear for battle at a site of an attack by Daesh militants in Kirkuk, Iraq, on Oct. 21. Kirkuk is some 170 kilometres from the Daesh-held city of Mosul, where Iraqi forces have been waging a wide-scale offensive since Monday. There was no immediate word on casualties among civilians or Kurdish forces in Kirkuk, and the TV report could not immediately be confirmed. The following month, Daesh militants captured the western Iraqi city of Ramadi and the eastern Syrian city of Palmyra.

Source: thestar October 21, 2016 11:56 UTC