Iraqi Forces, Kurds Win Territory From IS Fighters

Iraqi government forces and Kurdish Peshmerga forces have recaptured territory from Islamic State (IS) militants in the northern and central parts of the country.

The Iraqi military and allied Shi'ite militias seized control of the town of Jurf al-Sakhar, south of Baghdad, on October 25, after months of fighting.

Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi said on Iraqi television that people forced from Jurf al-Sakhar by fighting would soon return to their homes.

In northern Iraq, Kurdish fighters aided by air strikes by the U.S.-led coalition pushed IS militants out of the town of Zumar and several nearby villages.

Zumar is some 60 kilometers northwest of Mosul.

In Washington, the Pentagon said on October 26 that there were 23 air strikes in Iraq and one strike in Syria near the besieged mainly Kurdish town of Kobani.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AFP, and Al-Jazeera