KHAZIR FRONT, Southeast of Mosul - Peshmerga forces liberated four more villages from the Islamic State on Monday, the second day of an offensive aimed at recapturing seized villages of the Kakei and Shabak minorities and moving Kurdish frontlines closer to the ISIS stronghold of Mosul. A Kurdish officer told Rudaw that ISIS – or Daesh as the terrorist group is pejoratively known in Arabic – had shown little resistance, after fighting Sunday in which a Peshmerga brigadier was killed in an ambush and at least three other soldiers were wounded. Salar, the officer, said that “the dead bodies of three militants were left behind” by ISIS. He added that the Kakei villages of Wardak, Kazakan, Tulaband and Kulabur were liberated on Monday. The officer said that one other goal of the offensive – of pushing ISIS further away from the Kurdish capital – had been achieved, with the militants now 10 kilometers further away from Erbil. Some 5,000 Peshmerga and Zeravani Special Forces began the offensive on Sunday to liberate a clutch of abandoned Kakei and Shabak villages. Monday’s fighting included intensified targeting of ISIS positions by the US-led coalition that has been providing air support. Since the beginning of the operation the Peshmerga have been extending their frontline by establishing new bunkers and erecting large protective mounds. Among the ultimate goals of the operation is not only the liberation of the villages in the area, but also the extension of Kurdish front-line closer to Mosul, the ISIS stronghold in Iraq. The liberation of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, has been in the making for months. Iraqi forces and its allied militias, the Peshmerga and US-led coalition forces have been coordinating an anticipated offensive.
World19-06-2026US-Iran Switzerland talks uncertain as Vance postpones trip, Iranian delegation plans unconfirmed
