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Kurdish forces free more villages from IS in northern Iraq

Xinhua, September 30, 2015 Adjust font size:

Kurdish fighters on Wednesday recaptured more than seven villages from the Islamic State (IS) group in the oil-rich province of Kirkuk, a Kurdish security source told Xinhua.

Bolstered by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes, the Kurdish forces, known as Peshmerga, at dawn launched an offensive to regain areas from IS militants in south and west of the provincial capital city of Kirkuk, which is located some 250 km north of Baghdad, the source said on condition of anonymity.

The troops so far fought fierce clashes with the extremist militants and managed to regain control of 12 villages, and are moving closer to the IS-held town of Hawijah, about 60 km west of the city of Kirkuk, the source said.

There was no immediate reports about casualties among the two sides, while the battles are still underway as the Peshmerga forces are fighting to free more areas from the IS militants, he said.

"The offensive is progressing successfully, while our explosive experts are working to defuse dozens of bombs in the villages liberated by the Peshmerga so far since the morning," the source added.

The offensive was designed to push the IS militants back from their positions in the villages which were used as launch pad by the extremist militants on the oil fields and power plants near Kirkuk, the source said.

Kirkuk, home to mixed ethnicities of Kurds, Arabs, Turkomans and others, is part of areas being contested between Baghdad and the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan.

The Kurds want to expand their region in northern Iraq to include the oil-rich province of Kirkuk and other areas in the provinces of Nineveh, Salahudin and Diyala, a demand fiercely opposed by the Iraqi government.

IS militants in August captured Gwer and the nearby town as part of their June 10 blitzkrieg last year, posing an imminent threat to the Kurdish capital Arbil, but the militants have been pushed back by Peshmerga fighters with international air support. Enditem