Islamic State militants launched 15 near simultaneous attacks in northern Iraq, on Monday. The targets of their attacks were the Kurdish forces, according to Kurdish government officials. These series of simultaneous attacks were interpreted as a new push for territory. ISIS launched an attack against Mosul Dam, considered a strategic prize. An ISIS military truck was loaded with explosives and targeted the Peshmerga checkpoint. Six members of the security force were killed. Seven others were severely injured, according to Said Mamazeen, a spokesman for Peshmerga. At the same time, another attack was launched on the Nineveh Valley near the dam. This attack, however was repelled, with the help of European and American weapons. A Kurdish military official declared that despite all the attacks, ISIS will not be able to gain control over the dam, because of the Peshmerga forces in the area.
An official from the Ministry of Peshmerga reported that a great number of ISIS fighters were also killed during the attacks. Peshmerga was able to successfully repel most of the incidents on Monday. ISIS militants launched a series of attacks on the Sinjar mountain range. The village of Sharaf ad-Din, for example, is the home of an important shrine for the Yazidi community. Hazhar Ismail, brigadier general at the Ministry of Peshmerga declared: “ISIS failed in their attempt to control the village of Sharaf ad-Din after Peshmerga forces repelled the attack and managed to kill a number of ISIS militants”. Two villages in the area were seized, however they were unpopulated because of previous ISIS attacks in the region, in August.
As far as the Syrian front goes, the fighters defending Kobani are receiving more help from U.S. airtrikes. American military cargo planes have dropped weapons, ammunition and medical gear on Sunday night. Turkey’s foreign minister declared that Turkey would allow Kurdish Peshmerga from Iraq to enter their country in order to get to Syria and reinforce the fighters in Kobani. Kobani desperately needs help. Defenders control over 70% of the city, however it is still cut off. ISIS forces continue to attack it from the eastern and southern sides. Civilians fled to Turkey in order to seek safety. The United States underestimated the importance of Kobani, as a strategic location in the battle against ISIS fighters. If the Islamic State manages to take Kobani, it means it would gain control over the northern Syrian city of Raqqa and move on to Turkey.