A Kurdish peshmerga fighter at the checkpoint, instead of waving them through, began pointing urgently to the left — just as the whistle-boom of a mortar shell, a close one, sounded nearby. The bangs now came from all sides, intensifying into a drum roll as the peshmerga’s heavy machine guns opened fire at advancing Iraqi forces, accompanied by the bass thumps of the Howitzer artillery at the rear. It is also a troubling development for the U.S.-led coalition, which has lavished both the peshmerga and Iraqi forces with weapons and logistical and air support in the fight against Islamic State. “We’re already seeing the emphasis and the attention on ISIS slipping away.”A short video from the Peshmerga's first defensive line near Altun Kupri. A short video from the Peshmerga's first defensive line near Altun Kupri.

Source: Los Angeles Times October 20, 2017 11:37 UTC