Kurdish Forces Begin Counterattacks Against ISIS Fighters
After two days of American airstrikes against Sunni extremists threatening the Iraqi Kurdistan region, Kurdish forces on Sunday took advantage of a pause to carry out counterattacks in crucial border towns.
Kurdish officials said they had retaken the town of Gwer and were on the verge of seizing Mahkmour, where American military planes first struck the positions of fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, on Friday.
Both towns are about 20 miles from Erbil, the Kurdish regional capital, and advances by ISIS fighters there had briefly panicked residents here.
More: Kurdish Forces Begin Counterattacks Against ISIS Fighters