Iraq: Kurdish forces retake Iraqi town of Zumar and nearby villages from Islamic State militants
Kurdish forces retook the northern Iraqi town of Zumar and several nearby villages from Islamic State early on Saturday, Oct 25, after heavy coalition air strikes against the Islamist insurgents, security sources said, according to Reuters.
A Kurdish intelligence officer in Zumar said peshmerga forces had advanced from five directions in the early morning and encountered fierce resistance, but ultimately prevailed. A spokesman for the peshmerga ministry also said Zumar was now in Kurdish hands.
Zumar was one of the first Kurdish-controlled towns to be overrun in August by Islamic State militants who went on to threaten the autonomous region’s capital, prompting air strikes by the United States - a campaign since joined by Britain and France.