MAZREA DOLLAH, Kirkuk Province--Kurdish Peshmerga forces have successfully completed the first stage of their offensive to retake Bashir from Islamic State (ISIS) control, capturing the village of Mazrea Dollah on Saturday. The next stage, according to a Peshmerga commander taking part in the offensive, is to wrest control of five small villages surrounding Bashir from ISIS’ grip. Accompanying the Peshmerga is a medical team who has treated a couple of Peshmergas wounded by landmines. The medical team is also treating captured ISIS militants. Bashir is a large village in southern Kirkuk province and is located 25km south of Kirkuk. It was home to some 1800 families when it was taken over by ISIS in June 2014. The Shiite militia Hashd al-Shabi tried to regain control of Bashir several times, but failed.
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