ZUMAR - Peshmerga forces were rapidly advancing toward the predominantly Yezidi town of Shingal on Thursday, after pushing out Islamic State (ISIS) militants from villages around Zumar near the Syrian border, a Peshmerga official said.
In the latest push against the militants, the Kurdish forces launched an assault to retake Tall Awainat, a town in southern Zumar in Nineveh province.
On Wednesday, the Peshmerga recaptured seven villages around Zumar from ISIS, reportedly taking control of all the villages in the area.
Kurdish forces launched a three-pronged ground assault against ISIS around Shingal Wednesday morning, following a night of coalition airstrikes against the radical group.
Our reporter added that the Peshmerga had blocked all roads out of Mosul to prevent ISIS reinforcements from the Iraqi city the militants regards as their headquarters in the country.
ISIS forces captured Shingal in early August, followed by a frenzy of murder, rape, kidnap and looting of the town’s predominantly Yezidi population.
Dozens of ISIS militants were reportedly killed in Wednesday’s fighting and their bodies left in the battlefield, while only two Peshmerga soldiers were reported wounded.
In a telephone call Wednesday between US Vice President Joe Biden and Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani, the US congratulated the Peshmerga forces for their victory over ISIS in a day of intense fighting near the Syrian border.
Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani also offered his thanks for US assistance to the Peshmerga. “Thank you for the assistance of the United States to the Peshmerga,” he told a US Congressional delegation.
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment