HABBANIYAH, Iraq: Iraqi forces on Thursday (Friday in Manila) recaptured from the Islamic State group several military bases and villages as they launched a push to wipe out remnants of the jihadists’ self-styled caliphate in the country. There had been fears the bitter dispute that has raged between the Baghdad government and Iraqi Kurdish leaders since they held a referendum for independence last month would hamper the battle against IS. On Thursday the UN Security Council urged leaders from Iraq and the Kurdish autonomous region to set a timetable for talks to end the crisis. Al-Qaim has been a bastion of Sunni Arab insurgency for years. US troops carried out repeated operations with names like Matador and Steel Curtain in 2005 to flush out Al-Qaeda jihadists.

Source: Manila Times October 27, 2017 15:11 UTC