Five Peshmerga soldiers were martyred and four others were injured in the latest Islamic State (IS) attack in Kulajo area of Kalar, south of Sulaymaniyah province. 

Islamic State (IS) militants on Saturday night attacked the Peshmerga forces of Kurdistan Region in the Garmiyan Administration. IS snipers opened fire at an outpost of the fifth infantry Peshmerga brigade in kalan village which was soon repelled by the Kurdish forces, Peshmerga Ministry said in a statement.

Four Peshmerga soldiers were injured during the confrontations, the ministry confirmed immediately after the attack. 

While rushing to the area to transfer the injured, a Peshmerga Humvee was hit by a roadside bomb planted by the militants, leaving five Peshmerga soldiers killed. This comes almost a month after another deadly IS attack on the Peshmerga forces near Prde, south of Erbil, where two Peshmerga soldiers were martyred. 

The Ministry of Peshmerga confirmed the report in a statement and explained that the insurgents targeted a security outpost near the village of Kolajo, in Garmiyan.

The Peshmerga forces were able to repel the IS attack, the statement said while confirming that four Kurdish fighters were injured.

IS still continues to challenge the security in various areas in Iraq, especially in the territories disputed between Erbil and Baghdad.

Kurdistan Region Ministry of Peshmerga and Iraqi Defense Ministry have formed two joint brigades to secure the disputed areas and prevent a possible resurgence of the Islamic State in the region.