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Iraqi, Kurdish Forces Retake Town From Islamic State


Iraqi military forces have reportedly retaken the predominantly Turkoman town of Bashir from Islamic State (IS) fighters.

Kurdish officials said on May 1 that Kurdish Peshmerga forces and Shi'ite paramilitary forces backed by U.S.-led coalition air strikes had completed taking the northern Iraqi town after first surrounding it.

The Kurdistan Regional Security Council and a Turkoman Shi'ite military commander had also confirmed that Bashir was no longer controlled by the IS group.

Turkoman units from Iraq's Shi'ite Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization) militia group also took part in the recapture of Bashir.

Asso Mamand, an official from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan Party, said several nearby villages were also recaptured from IS fighters, including Albu Mafraj and Mazargay Imam on April 30.

Iraqi officials had said that Bashir was used by IS fighters in March to launch what officials said was a chemical attack on the nearby town of Taza that killed at least three people and injured many others.

Based on reporting by AFP, Rudaw, and NRTTV

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