Advertisement
UK markets close in 7 hours 41 minutes
  • FTSE 100

    7,726.62
    +4.07 (+0.05%)
     
  • FTSE 250

    19,474.58
    -11.95 (-0.06%)
     
  • AIM

    736.50
    -0.13 (-0.02%)
     
  • GBP/EUR

    1.1700
    -0.0005 (-0.04%)
     
  • GBP/USD

    1.2691
    -0.0038 (-0.30%)
     
  • Bitcoin GBP

    50,023.32
    -3,385.41 (-6.34%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     
  • S&P 500

    5,149.42
    +32.33 (+0.63%)
     
  • DOW

    38,790.43
    +75.63 (+0.20%)
     
  • CRUDE OIL

    82.50
    -0.22 (-0.27%)
     
  • GOLD FUTURES

    2,151.50
    -12.80 (-0.59%)
     
  • NIKKEI 225

    40,003.60
    +263.20 (+0.66%)
     
  • HANG SENG

    16,529.48
    -207.62 (-1.24%)
     
  • DAX

    17,955.54
    +22.86 (+0.13%)
     
  • CAC 40

    8,151.12
    +2.98 (+0.04%)
     

Battling Against Islamic State's Guerrilla Tactics

The forces fighting Islamic State in Iraq say they are encountering more and more roadside bombs as the extremist group is attacked on multiple fronts.

As Sky News was filming in northern Iraq the team saw fighters being treated for serious injuries 30 minutes after an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded on a road which was meant to be secure.

Four men were killed in the blast.

The small medical centre near the frontline with IS was overwhelmed with casualties.

Doctor Zahawi Saman told us the attacks are happening regularly and that he and his staff are facing medical shortages.

"There should be a plan from the central government because they are running a war and war needs more big hospitals and more staff and equipment," he said.

ADVERTISEMENT

"They are not providing us with this equipment - that's why we need more facilities."

The IEDs IS are using are basic but devastating.

They are also very difficult to defend against as they are made from easily obtained dual use materials; fertiliser for farming, simple fuses and a mobile phone are enough to cause carnage.

The bombs also have a massive psychological impact on the forces trying to defeat IS, particularly when they are detonated in areas that are meant to be secure.

Some of the fighters we meet on the frontline in northern Iraq are teenagers - the youngest who is fitted out in a mismatched uniform is just 15.

The group of boys tell us they are battling IS to retake their villages and avenge the murders of their relatives.

None of them want to be identified because they are scared of IS's reach.

"They displaced us from our houses, they stole everything. They are evil.

"They blew up mosques and schools. If they were Muslim they wouldn't blow up mosques.

"They killed our families, anyone who had a business. IS only kills."

The villages here are slowly being liberated but the roads connecting them are still dangerous.

As IS is attacked in Syria and Iraq, the threat is increasingly from guerrilla tactics.

The men fighting believe they are winning the battle against IS but they also know that each time they leave their bases on patrol they face the risk of roadside bombs and ambush.