Kurdish forces Have moved to retake the Mosul damn on Sunday, though fighting with ISIL is still heavy. US air cover has played a significant role in the operation. In the past two days the US has taken part in 30 air strikes hitting Humvees, armed vehicles and armored vehicles.
With significant achievements already under their belt, delays have taken place as Kurdish Fighters must wait for special teams to disengage mines left behind by retreating ISIL fighters. However, Kurdish forces control large parts of the Dam but have not yet gained control over all of it.
“We do not control the entire dam yet,” said Fuad Hussein, a spokesman for Massoud Barzani, the Iraqi Kurdish president, in a televised statement.
Along with the Kurdish forces, Iraqi Special Forces are also pushing into the region, making it a three way alliance with American air support.
Kurdish officials acknowledge that the airstrikes have been vital to recent success in halting the militants’ onslaught.
One Kurdish Commander had this to say about air support:
“The aircrafts have handicapped the ISIS forces — they cannot move easily,” said Hariam Agha, a local commander of the Kurdish forces in Dohuk. “They killed a lot of their fighters.”
There is no doubt however, that what we are beginning to see would not have been accomplished without Kurdish forces ground support as they battle ISIL.
Even though Kurdish forces have had to fight with less then superior weaponry then ISIL forces they've even begun to pick up advantages in that aspect as they retrieve US made weapons, left behind by Iraqi forces who had earlier surrendered to ISIL forces.
Speaking under the cloak of anonymity, because they were not given permission to speak by those in charge of operations, many Kurdish fighters, known as the Persh Merga, are optimistic about soon controlling the Mosul Dam. They are also telling reporters that ISIL is on the retreat.
It is fact, and a glimmer of much needed hope in the region, as ISIL fighters are beginning to retreat on two fronts as Kurdish forces are moving to control the Mosul Dam and fighting towards Mosul.
Edited to add source:
NYT