Iraqi forces reclaim control of Mosul Dam

BAGHDAD  — Iraq’s army spokesman says security forces and Kurdish fighters have taken back the strategic Mosul Dam, the country’s largest, from Islamic militants who captured it less than two weeks ago.

Kurdish forces, known as peshmerga, stand guard near Mosul Dam at the town of Chamibarakat outside Mosul, Iraq, Sunday, Aug. 17, 2014. AP PHOTO

Lt. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi told The Associated Press that Kurdish peshmerga forces and Iraqi anti-terrorism troops retook the dam on Monday.

Al-Mousawi says the troops were backed by aerial support but he didn’t specify whether there were U.S. airstrikes during the battle. Iraqi state TV also reported the capture.

Iraq’s recapturing of the entire Mosul Dam complex on the Tigris River and the territory surrounding its reservoir is a significant victory against the Islamic State group, which seized large swaths of northern and western Iraq this summer.

The dam supplies electricity and water to a large part of the country.