New online gaming craze Pokémon Go spreads to battlefield in IRAQ as soldier spots ‘Squirtle’ while fighting ISIS

An American soldier has become a viral sensation after taking a rest from battling ISIS in Iraq to try and catch a few Pokémon.

Louis Park, 26, spends his days fighting extremists alongside the Kurdish Peshmerga.

But he decided to set down his machine gun and take an astonishing picture showing the moment he snared a "Squirtle".

The picture then surged across social media, with thousands of people sharing it across the world.

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He is just one of millions of people who is hooked on the augmented reality game, which allows players to hunt Pokémon in real world locations using their smartphone.

"Just caught my first Pokémon on the Mosul front line by Teleskuf," he wrote.

"Daesh, come challenge me to a Pokémon battle. Mortars are for pussies."

Park is just one of millions of people who have become addicted to the smartphone game, which is expected to be released in Britain in the coming days.

He admitted to being a "huge fan" of the gaming franchise, which is one of the gaming giant Nintendo's most successful inventions.

The soldier is currently stationed in Dohuk, a town with a population of about 350,000 in Kurdistan, Northern Iraq.

He's living about one hour from the frontline and claimed life was pretty dull until Pokémon Go came along.

"Most of the days are boring," .

"You kind of sit there and you guard your post and stand by in case anything happens. [ISIS] shoot mortars just about every other day, but we've only had a couple of actual attacks.

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Are you a Pokémon addict or do you know any strange places they've been found? Contact [email protected]

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Luckily, he's not too distracted during important moments because the virtual Pokémon appear much more common in Dohuk than on the battlefield.

"On the front line I was only able to catch the starters," says Park, "but here in Dohuk they've got gyms and pokéstops and everything."

Find out now how you can download and play Pokémon Go in the UK.

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