The Battle of Kirkuk took place in the city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq between Iraqi Kurdistan and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. On the night of January 29, around 150 ISIL fighters attacked positions south and west of the city of Kirkuk, Iraq, which were temporarily under the control of the Peshmerga. The ISIL offensive began under the cover of dense fog and succeeded in overwhelming Peshmerga positions and seizing the towns of Mala Abdullah, Maryam Beg, Tel Ward and the Maktab Khalid crossing. Parts of the Khabbaz oil fields were also captured, taking 24 workers hostage.^[5][6][7][8] At least 25 Peshmerga fighters died including Brig. Gen. Sherko Shwani, commander of the 1st Brigade and the highest ranking head of Peshmerga forces in Kirkuk.^[9] Gen. Sherko Shwani was killed after being trapped and shot by attackers, according to another Peshmerga commander.^[10] Around 16 other Peshmerga fighters were captured by ISIL, and later killed in a staged execution.^[11][12]

Battle of Kirkuk (2015)
Part of the War in Iraq
Location in Iraq
Date 30 January – 1 February 2015 (2 days) Location Kirkuk, Iraq Result Status quo ante bellum
Belligerents
Kurdistan Region[1] Airstrikes: CJTF-OIR	Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Commanders and leaders
Masoud Barzani (President of Iraqi Kurdistan) Major General Hussein Mansour †[2] (Commander in Kirkuk) Brigadier General Sherko Fatih Shwani †[3][4] (Brigade commander)	Abu Khalid Al Ansari
Units involved
Kurdistan: Peshmerga 1st Brigade 17th Brigade	Unknown
Strength
4,000+	450
Casualties and losses
50 killed 46 wounded	70–150 killed[1]

The next day, another senior Peshmerga commander, Gen. Hussein Mansour, commander of the 2nd combat support units in the Kirkuk region was killed by sniper fire while leading an attack against Mala Abdullah village.^[13][14] The Khabbaz oil fields were also retaken by Peshmerga troops. However ISIL fighters set fire to some of the oil wells before it was cleared.^[15][16][17] Kurdish forces retook 8 villages from ISIL.