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Iraq Says Its Forces Have Dislodged Rebels From Major Dam Iraq Says It Is Close to Retaking Mosul Dam
(35 minutes later)
BADRIYA, Iraq — Iraqi officials said on Monday that Kurdish and Iraqi forces had succeeded in retaking Mosul Dam from fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, although it was unclear whether they had seized control of the entire dam and the surrounding complex. BADRIYA, Iraq — Iraqi officials said on Monday that Kurdish and Iraqi forces were on the verge of reclaiming control of the strategic Mosul Dam from the Sunni militants who seized it two weeks ago.
Iraqi state television quoted Gen. Qassim Atta, an Iraqi military spokesman, as saying that Iraqi special forces and Kurdish pesh merga fighters were in command of the dam, the largest in Iraq. Hoshyar Zebari, a Kurdish leader and the foreign minister in Iraqi’s departing government, also said by telephone Monday that the dam was in the hands of Iraqi and Kurdish forces. The commander of the ground forces working to reclaim the dam, Iraq’s largest, said that there was still fighting along the edge of the compound, where a separate and smaller dam is. The main dam, however, was in government control, he said, as was a strategic hill located above the smaller dam, where an estimated 70 militants fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria were still dug in.
But as of midday, no photographs or videos had been released showing the security forces inside the dam, and the Kurdish military was preventing journalists from approaching the area and keeping residents from returning to their homes in villages nearby. “I am hopeful that in the next few hours we will retake the entire area,” said Mansour Barzani, the ground forces commander, early Monday evening. Mr. Barzani, the son of Kurdish president Masoud Barzani, was stationed with his command team in front of the dam, where wisps of smoke from earlier airstrikes curled skyward.
A commander for the Kurdish pesh merga forces in the area, Gen. Omer Ibrahim, said that ISIS fighters had abandoned the dam complex and retreated to a nearby front. But the complex itself was heavily mined, meaning the pesh merga could not fully enter it and prolonging the push to fully occupy the dam. But even after the militants had been routed, Mr. Barzani warned, it would still take hours to clear the facilities of mines. Since the operation began Sunday morning, Mr. Barzani said, the presence of mines laid by the militants has hampered the progress of Kurdish pesh merga forces, Mr. Barzani said.
From the town of Badriya northwest of the dam, where pesh merga forces were running a checkpoint, smoke could be seen rising from near the area, suggesting fresh airstrikes. At one point, more than a dozen armored personnel carriers full of Kurdish military officers came through, heading toward the dam. As of midday, no photographs or videos had been released showing the security forces inside the dam. The Kurdish military was barring the news media from the area and keeping residents from returning to villages nearby.
Although a series of American airstrikes on ISIS positions near the dam had allowed Kurdish forces to reclaim nearby villages and to approach the area, Kurdish officers said the militants had slowed the progress of the military forces by planting roadside bombs. The rout of the ISIS forces, if confirmed, comes after a string of successes since the American military unleashed jet and drone attacks on the militants, stopping an advance that threatened the major Kurdish city of Erbil and the lives of thousands of Yazidi refugees. Now, the American intervention seems to be backstopping a major Kurdish effort to reclaim lost territory.
A large truck arrived at the checkpoint carrying more than two dozen metal cylinders strewn with wires. Idris Mohammed, a Kurdish military officer, said they were bombs that Kurdish sappers had removed from a village near the dam. The strikes aimed around the city of Mosul and the dam have severely hampered the Sunni militants, reducing their freedom of movement and forcing them to retreat from areas they once dominated.
The airstrikes appeared to have forced the insurgents to flee, or at least to seek cover, and only light clashes were reported as Kurdish forces approached the dam. In response to the latest developments, the checkpoint was crowded with hundreds of residents who had fled villages near the dam and wanted to return to check on their homes. The smoke from what appeared to be fresh airstrikes was visible from the town of Badriya, northwest of the dam, where the pesh merga forces were running a checkpoint, where more than a dozen armored personnel carriers full of Kurdish fighters came through, heading to the dam. The forces manning the checkpoint were on edge, forcing cars to turn back and even challenging the ability of pesh merga forces to enter the area.
The dam is on the Tigris River, about 30 miles from Mosul, and is a crucial source of electricity for the city, the second-largest in Iraq. It is also a control point for the water supply for a larger area, and the seizure of the dam by the ISIS militants raised fears that a 65-foot wave of water could be released over northern Iraq. A large truck passed through the checkpoint at midday carrying more than two dozen metal cylinders, strewn with wires. Idris Mohammed, a Kurdish military officer, said they were bombs that Kurdish sappers, or military engineers, had removed from a village near the dam.
The airstrikes appeared to have forced the insurgents to flee, or at least to seek cover, and only light clashes were reported as Kurdish forces approached the dam. As a result, hundreds of residents who had fled villages in the vicinity returned Monday, hoping to check on their homes. For the most part, though, they were turned back.
The dam is on the Tigris River, about 30 miles from Mosul. It is a crucial source of electricity for the city, the second-largest in Iraq. It is also a control point for the water supply for a larger area, and the seizure of the dam by the ISIS militants raised fears that a 65-foot wave of water could be released over northern Iraq.