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| US strikes Islamic State militants at Iraq's Haditha dam | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The US has carried out a series of air strikes on Islamic State militants close to the vital Haditha dam in western Iraq, US officials say. | |
| The US strikes, the first in the area, were to protect the Iraqi forces and Sunni tribesmen in control of the dam. | |
| The US has carried out scores of air strikes to support Iraqi and Kurdish forces as they try to halt the advance of the militants in the north and west. | The US has carried out scores of air strikes to support Iraqi and Kurdish forces as they try to halt the advance of the militants in the north and west. |
| Earlier, Kurdish forces retook the strategically important Mount Zarta. | Earlier, Kurdish forces retook the strategically important Mount Zarta. |
| Lock gates | Lock gates |
| A US official said: "At the request of the Iraqi government and in keeping with our mission to protect US personnel and facilities, US military planes have begun striking Isil terrorists near the Haditha dam." | |
| The Pentagon's press secretary, Rear Admiral John Kirby, later said: "We conducted these strikes to prevent terrorists from further threatening the security of the dam, which remains under control of Iraqi security forces, with support from Sunni tribes." | |
| IS, also often referred to as Isil or Isis, has taken over large swathes of Iraq and Syria in recent months, declaring the land it holds a "caliphate". | |
| The US has now carried out more than 130 air strikes since early August. | The US has now carried out more than 130 air strikes since early August. |
| Islamic State fighters have targeted a number of dams in their offensive, capturing the facility at Fallujah. | Islamic State fighters have targeted a number of dams in their offensive, capturing the facility at Fallujah. |
| They also took the largest dam, at Mosul, but US air strikes helped force them out. | They also took the largest dam, at Mosul, but US air strikes helped force them out. |
| The group has so far failed in its attempts to capture Haditha dam, on the Euphrates valley in western Anbar province. It is Iraq's second largest dam. | |
| IS militants in August reportedly closed eight of the Fallujah dam's 10 lock gates that control the river flow, flooding land up the Euphrates river and reducing water levels in Iraq's southern provinces, through which the river passes. | IS militants in August reportedly closed eight of the Fallujah dam's 10 lock gates that control the river flow, flooding land up the Euphrates river and reducing water levels in Iraq's southern provinces, through which the river passes. |
| Many families were forced from their homes and troops were prevented from deploying, Iraqi security officials said. | Many families were forced from their homes and troops were prevented from deploying, Iraqi security officials said. |
| IS also controls other key national assets - several oil and gas fields in western Iraq and Syria. | IS also controls other key national assets - several oil and gas fields in western Iraq and Syria. |
| Short battle | |
| Kurdish forces in northern Iraq earlier recaptured the strategically important Mt Zartak, which overlooks a plain that stretches to Mosul, the city seized by IS in June. | |
| The mountain fell to the Islamists last month when they staged a lightning attack on Iraqi Kurdistan. | |
| Since then Kurdish "peshmerga" fighters have been slowly pushing back, assisted by US air power. | |
| The BBC's Jim Muir in Iraq says Mount Zartak was retaken in a short, sharp battle that left more than 30 IS fighters dead. |