(18 Aug 2014) Iraqi and Kurdish forces wrested back control of the country's largest dam from Islamic militants on Monday, according to the Iraqi army.
Army spokesman Lieutenant General Qassim al-Moussawi said the dam itself was secured by Kurdish Peshmerga troops and Iraqi security forces on Monday but that the southern side of the complex remains contested and that fierce fighting is underway to liberate that area.
Alarmed by the advance of militant fighters, US and Iraqi airstrikes pounded the area over the past two days.
The US military said US forces conducted nine strikes on Saturday and another 16 on Sunday in efforts to help the Iraqis retake the dam.
Soon after the news broke, the Islamic State group, which two weeks ago captured the Mosul Dam spanning the Tigris River just north of the city of Mosul, denied the claim, insisting it was still in control of the facility.
The retaking of the dam would mark the first major victory for the Iraqi and Kurdish forces battling the Islamic militants since US airstrikes began earlier this month.


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