العربي الديمقراطي The Latest From The Arab World
مقالات مشابهة
Kurdish fighters backed by Western warplanes fought militants from the Islamic State (IS) on three different battle frontiers in Iraq on Tuesday, as they slowly gain back territory lost to the extremist group.
The Kurdish peshmerga attacked militants in the town of Rabia just before dawn – the strategically important town lies on the Syrian border, to the south of oil hub Kirkuk and north of Mosul. According to sources, peshmerga fighters entered the town after capturing the villages of Mahmudiyah and As-Saudiyah.
Reportedly, peshmerga forces also attacked Zumar, some 60 kilometers to the northwest of Rabia and located near the reservoir of the largest dam in Iraq; Zumar has been a crucial battleground between the militants and the Kurds.
“We have ousted IS from 30 positions, including in the Zumar and Rabia areas”, said peshmerga spokesman Halgord Hekmat. Hekmat would not give details on the nature of air support received in Zumar.
“The advance on Rabia will facilitate efforts to recapture Sinjar. We cannot reach Sinjar without taking Rabia”, Hekmat added.
Both Zumar and Rabia were captured by the peshmerga in the confusion that followed IS militants’ capture of Mosul in June in a lightning offensive. The militants continued their push and two months later inflicted setbacks on the Kurdish peshmerga, a move which was one of the reasons that led to the US-led air campaign.
Sinjar lies further southwest and was seized by militants in August, prompting tens of thousands of people, most of them for the minority Yazidi community, to flee the town.
To the south of Kirkuk, peshmerga fighters retook many villages near the town Daquq – the villages had been under extremist control since June 10th and had air support.
“They have liberated the villages of Saad and Khaled. The peshmerga have taken full control of the area, following fierce fighting”, said General Westa Rasul.