RABIA, Northern Iraq - A public hospital that was the last holdout of Islamic State fighters in the Iraq-Syria border town of Rabia was seized by Kurdish Peshmerga forces overnight. The jihadists had been using the building as a sniper post to attack Kurdish soldiers who retook the rest of the strategic town on Tuesday. Nasim Bradosty, a Peshmerga commander, told Rudaw the hospital had now been cleared of ISIS fighters and three of the group’s snipers were among an unknown number of dead. Peshmerga forces captured more than 20 machine guns, five RPG rockets and 2 Humvee vehicles abandoned as ISIS retreated from the area, which was now under complete Peshmerga control. Kurdish forces have also succeeded in retaking more than 10 villages in the Rabia area after heavy clashes with ISIS fighters. Kurdish officials believe control of Rabia, on a strategic road from the Syrian border to Mosul, will help Kurdish forces to eventually advance towards ISIS-held Shingal and Zumar.
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