"Kurdish and Iraqi forces seized control of Iraq’s largest dam from Islamic State militants as the U.S. deployed air power that helped reverse some gains made by the Sunni-Muslim insurgents in the north.

Kurdish forces, also known as the peshmerga, and government anti-terrorism units “with joint air support, have taken over the Mosul Dam entirely,” Iraqi military spokesman Qassim Ata said on state-sponsored Iraqiya television. Abo Maan Al-Taie, a spokesman for Sunni tribes supporting the militants, said that fighting continued on the eastern side of the dam.

Islamic State fighters forced the peshmerga to retreat earlier this month as they swept toward Erbil, the capital of the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan. The insurgents had earlier taken Mosul Dam using U.S.-made weapons seized from fleeing Iraqi troops. In response, President Barack Obama authorized airstrikes on Aug. 8 to protect U.S. personnel and threatened Iraqi minorities."

Aziz Alwan reports for Bloomberg News August 18, 2014. [2]