Kurds advance on key Iraq dam, Sunnis hit jihadists

August 17, 2014 17:47

Kurdish fighters backed by US warplanes pushed back jihadists around Iraq's largest dam today, as Sunni Arab tribesmen and security forces fought the militants west of Baghdad.

Two months of violence have brought Iraq to the brink of breakup, and world powers relieved by the exit of divisive premier Nuri al-Maliki were sending aid to the hundreds of thousands who have fled their homes as well as arms to the Kurds.

Kurdish fighters were advancing on Mosul dam, which the Islamic State (IS) fighters seized a week ago, but their progress was being hampered by roadside bombs, Kurdish officials said.

The dam on the Tigris river north of Iraq's second city provides electricity and irrigation water for farming to much of the region.

It recapture would be the first major prize won back from the jihadists since they launched their shock offensive in early June, routing the security forces across much of northern and western Iraq.

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