LOC20:24
17:24 GMT
WASHINGTON, Feb 9 (KUNA) -- Kurdish Peshmerga forces, backed by targeted airstrikes by US-led coalition, seized three bridgeheads on the west bank of the Tigris River, north of Mosul in Iraq, from ISIL militants, the US army confirmed Monday.
"From February 6 to 8, in support of the Government of Iraq's (GOI) campaign to defeat ISIL, the Coalition executed four close air support airstrikes to facilitate the maneuver of the Kurdish Security Forces and their successful attack," the Combined Joint Task Force for Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) said in a statement.
"Kurdish Peshmerga Forces now hold the gains they have made and are postured to retake additional territory from Daesh in the vicinity of Mosul," it added.
CJTF-OIR further noted that Coalition Advise and Assist teams "continue to provide operational and intelligence assistance to Kurdish Security Forces which further enables them to successfully conduct offensive operations."
Lieutenant General James Terry, Commander of CJTF-OIR, asserted that "this most recent Peshmerga Operation is yet another example of how Daesh (ISIL) can be defeated militarily using a combination of well led and capable ground forces enabled by Coalition Aviation and Advise and Assist capabilities." (end)
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