Islamic State: Militants 'pushed back' in Iraq

(BBC) - Kurdish forces in northern Iraq say they have recaptured the town of Zumar from Islamic State militants.

Further south, Iraqi security forces are reported to have ejected IS from Jurf al-Sakhar near Baghdad, in a battle to secure a Shia pilgrim route.

Meanwhile the US military said US-led forces made 22 air strikes against IS in Iraq on Friday and Saturday.

IS has seized large swathes of Iraq and Syria since June, prompting air strikes to help ground forces stem the advance.

In Lebanon, six soldiers were killed as troops clashed with Sunni militants thought to be linked to IS in the centre of the second city, Tripoli.

'Significant development'

In Iraq, Kurdish Peshmerga forces said they had forced the militants from the centre of Zumar and some surrounding villages with the help of US air support.

The town is 60km (36 miles) north of the city of Mosul, captured by IS in June.

The Peshmerga were driven from Zumar in August in another IS offensive which prompted the US-led air campaign.

A senior official in the Peshmerga ministry in Iraq's Kurdish region, Lt Gen Jabbar Yawar, told the BBC's Newshour that recapturing Zumar was a significant development and would "facilitate Peshmerga plans to liberate Sinjar".

Islamic State, also known as ISIS, captured the town of Sinjar in August forcing thousands of residents, mainly from the Yazidi sect, to flee.

Bakudaily.Az