With US aid, Iraq seizes dam

Baghdad: The Iraqi security forces and Kurdish fighters on Monday wrested back control of the country’s largest dam from the hands of Islamic militants who captured it less than two weeks ago, an army spokesman in Baghdad said.

 

The development marks the first major victory for Iraqi and, Kurdish troops since U.S. airstrikes began earlier this month and could significantly boost their morale as they try to free territory overrun by the Islamic State group in a blitz this summer.

The Mosul Dam  spanning the Tigris River just north of Iraq's second-largest city of Mosul  and its broader complex hold great strategic value as they supply electricity and water to a large part of the country.

 

Alarmed by the militants advance, the U.S. and Iraqi airstrikes pounded the area in the past two days. The United States military said in a statement that US forces conducted nine strikes on Saturday and another 16 on Sunday in efforts to help the Iraqis retake the dam.