MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Kurdish Peshmerga forces on Friday reclaimed the strategic northern Iraqi city of Sinjar held for over a year by Islamic State jihadist militants, Kurdish authorities said.
"Peshmerga forces now inside Sinjar from all directions to clear the area of remaining ISIL terrorists," the Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) wrote on its Twitter account. "ISIL defeated and on the run."
On the second day of US-backed attacks, Kurdish forces were said to secure a local silo, cement factory, hospital and several public buildings. Engineering teams supported the operation by clearing improvised explosive devices (IED), the KRSC said.
The KRSC said Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani is due to hold a press conference announcing the "success of Operation Free Sinjar."
Up to 2,000 civilians from the Nineveh Province-based Yazidi religious community have been killed by ISIL fighters after Sinjar was conquered in August 2014.
