Kurds Retaking Control Of Mosul Dam; ISIS Militants Falling Back

Update as of 5:08 a.m. EDT: Kurdish fighters and Iraqi forces have managed to rout militants from the Islamic State militants out of Mosul dam, Reuters reported Monday, citing a state television report.

The report added that while the claim could not be independently verified, a Twitter account of a pro-Islamic State media outlet reportedly said the dam was still under the group's full control.

Kurdish peshmerga and Iraqi soldiers took control late Sunday of most of the Mosul dam and said they expect to be in complete control within hours. The victory, won with the help of U.S. airstrikes, sent Islamic State militants scurrying, the Washington Post reported.

Helgurd Hikmat, a spokesman for the Kurdish fighters, said half to 80 percent of the dam had been wrested from Islamic State control. “We expect to finish this within hours,” Hikmat said.

Recapturing the dam, which sits on the Tigris River about 30 miles from Mosul, was seen as crucial to prevent the militants, formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, from unleashing floodwaters that could inundate Baghdad and disrupt electricity supplies.

U.S. planes conducted nine attacks on Islamic State targets Saturday near the dam and Irbil. U.S. Central Command said airstrikes Sunday destroyed militant armored vehicles, anti-aircraft artillery, a checkpoint and bomb emplacement. The White House acknowledged the intervention in a statement Sunday.

The New York Times reported Iraqi Special Forces were said to be participating in the Kurdish assault that is believed to have killed 13 militants and injured 46 since Saturday.