On 27 January 2015, ISIL launched a surprise attack on the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, in an attempt to draw Kurdish Peshmerga fighters away from Mosul.[18] However, Peshmerga forces managed to staunch the attack and regain some lost territory in the region, with the US ramping up their airstrikes near Kirkuk to 19 on 1 February 2015, in response to the ISIL advance.[19]