ERBIL, Kurdistan Region--Kurdish Peshmerga forces have recaptured nine of the eleven villages they aimed to liberate in the first day of a major offensive against Islamic State (ISIS) militants in Nineveh province east of Erbil.
“The villages of Qarqasha, Qaradag, Setyh, Shanaf, Tal Hamid, Abzakh, al-Hamrah, Omar Mendan, and Sayyud Hayyasi were freed today,” Renas Rasheed of the Zeravani Peshmerga told Rudaw English.
Rasheed added that Peshmerga forces will pass the night stay at their last outposts.
The Peshmerga accomplished 80 percent of their goal on the first day of the offensive, Mansour Barzani, a commander in the Kurdish special forces, told Rudaw on the front line on Sunday evening.
One major achievement, Barzani noted, was retaking Gwer Bridge, which crosses the Great Zab River. “Regaining control of Gwer Bridge will have an important role in coming offensives,” he said.
“ISIS is not as strong as it used to be and most of its fighters were killed [in today’s offensive],” he added.
Some 2,500 Peshmerga were involved in the major operation launched against ISIS in the early hours of Sunday on the Makhmour-Gwer and Khazir fronts. More than 100 ISIS militants were killed during the offensive.
The aim of the operation was to recapture 11 villages, most of them Kurdish with a few Arab villages among them.
Military officials have told Rudaw that Sunday’s operation, which was backed by coalition airstrikes, will further shrink ISIS territories and push the group back towards its Mosul stronghold.
Kurdish President Masoud Barzani, who is commander-in-chief of the Peshmerga, supervised the operation.
Safeen Dizayee, spokesperson for the Kurdistan Regional Government, shared the government's pride in the Peshmerga forces on Twitter.
Extremely proud of our #Peshmergas, who have proved once again that they are the most effective force in defeating IS terror
— Safeen Dizayee (@SafeenDizayee) August 14, 2016
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