MOSCOW, September 30 (RIA Novosti) - Kurdish Peshmerga troops have launched a large-scale offensive against the Islamic State (IS) jihadists in northern Iraq on Tuesday.
Kurdish forces are carrying out attacks on three principal fronts: north of the city of Mosul, seized by rebels, south of Kirkuk oil fields and on the border crossing town of Rabia between Iraq and Syria, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported, citing senior Kurdish officers.
The source also said the Peshmerga are trying to dislodge the IS from the city of Zumar, near Iraq's largest dam Mosul.
One of the Kurdish officers noted that the attacks are bolstered up by aircraft and artillery, but refused to specify the origin of the aid.
Earlier in the week, Iraqi Ministry of Defense reported that the government troops had regained control over 16 settlements in the Diyala province, northeast of the capital Baghdad. According to the ministry's statement, over 100 insurgents have been killed and some 50 improvised explosive devices have been defused.
The IS jihadist group launched an offensive on Iraq in June, subsequently proclaiming a caliphate on the large areas under its control across the country and the neighboring Syria. Amid the turmoil in the country, Iraqi Kurds have seized some of the territories, abandoned by government forces, in particular, Rabia and Zumar.
In August, Washington began to carry out airstrikes against the IS targets in northern Iraq. Last week, the attacks were extended to Syria, with France and Pentagon's Arab allies taking part.
