Iraq: Kurds launch offensive against three IS positions

Mosul (Iraq), Sep 30 (IANS/EFE) Kurdish fighters, known as the Peshmerga, launched an offensive against three positions of the Islamic State (IS) jihadi group in northern Iraq Tuesday and retook lost territory, sources told Spanish news agency Efe.

Peshmerga spokesman Helgurd Hikmet said that the Kurds made progress in the town of Rabia near the Iraqi-Syrian border where they regained control of several villages, including Zumar on the outskirts of of Mosul, and Daquq, south of Kirkuk city.

The Peshmerga also regained control of more than 30 positions that were in the hands of the IS extremists, Hikmet said.

The spokesman added that the Kurdish forces were supported by US-led international coalition airstrikes.

The IS overran Zumar early in August, forcing the Kurds to withdraw from their traditional homeland.

The Peshmerga managed to liberate the towns of al-Mahmudiya, al-Jabarat and other villages in the vicinity of Rabia town.

The Kurds were deployed at the entrance of the town, getting ready for a push to gain full control over the area, according to the Kurdish official PUK media.

The military operation also targeted southern Kirkuk, a city under the protection of the Peshmerga but which the jihadis are besieging.

Peshmerga fighters forced the jihadis out of three villages -- Daquq-al-Wahda, al-Saad and al-Khaled -- and casualties amongst the jihadis were reported.

The Kurdish forces are fighting along with the Iraqi army against the IS, backed by the international coalition.

--IANS/EFE

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