KIRKUK (AFP) – Iraqi security forces repelled an insurgent attack on a northern Shiite Turkmen town, killing 15 militants, an official said on Thursday.

The attack by the Islamic State (IS) insurgents and allied Sunni Islamist extremists on the town of Amirli took place on Wednesday, said Talib al-Bayati, an official from the nearby town of Suleiman Bek.

“Iraqi forces, with the help of military aircraft, repelled an attack on Amirli on three sides and killed 15 gunmen, according to an initial toll,” said Bayati.

Amirli lies to the south of Suleiman Bek, which fell to an IS-led onslaught that swept parts of Iraq’s north and west last month.