Peshmerga Kurds launch offensive to take Sinjar Amid Intensified Coaliti...

http://www.newsbharati.com/ Peshmerga Kurds launch offensive to take Sinjar Amid Intensified Coalition Airstrikes on ISIS.

Sinjar Offensive.

Sinjar, Iraq Plumes of smoke blackened the sky above Sinjar as Kurdish forces, backed by intense coalition air support, tried Thursday to take back the northern Iraqi town from ISIS.



The operation includes up to 7,500 Peshmergas -- the Kurdish military force -- who are attacking the city from three sides to take control of supply routes, according to the Kurdish Region Security Council.



CNN senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh is with one of the three fronts of fighters who launched their liberation operation early Thursday morning against a backdrop of airstrikes.



The U.S.-backed coalition Operation Inherent Resolve said coalition aircraft have conducted more than 250 airstrikes across northern Iraq in the last month. The strikes have reportedly destroyed ISIS fighting positions, command and control facilities, weapon storage facilities, improvised explosive device factories, and staging areas.



"A pitch-black sky was lit up by a lot of coalition airstrikes following days of bombing. At dawn, a large procession of Peshmerga started snaking their way through Sinjar mountain and behind it," Paton Walsh said.



The coalition strikes were pounding the strategic city itself, he said, with four different columns of smoke darkening the horizon above: "The strikes on Sinjar almost make the sky over it look black. There's a vast amount of air power -- more intense than the fight for Kobani."



Liberation from ISIS comes at a cost



Liberation from ISIS comes at a cost 02:19

Kobani is a Syrian border town that was wrested back from ISIS militants earlier this year after four months of fierce fighting that left parts of it entirely flattened.



According to a Pentagon spokesman, U.S. troops are in the field calling in airstrikes from positions in Sinjar.



"The Peshmerga forces are carrying this out with, as you said, the support of coalition advisers. There are U.S. personnel. My understanding is there are coalition advisers from other countries as well participating," Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told reporters.



He added: "Most of those folks as I understand it are behind the front lines advising and working directly with Peshmerga commanders. There are some advisers who are on Sinjar mountain assisting in the selection of airstrike targets."



Late Thursday, the Kurdish Region Security Council released a statement detailing the day's operations. It reported that more than 150 square kilometers (60 square miles) had been retaken from ISIS.



"Peshmerga units will continue from three fronts to set up defensive positions, allowing engineering teams to clear the heavily mined area. Peshmerga forces have already achieved two of three strategic goals, dealing a significant blow to ISIL morals," it read, using an alternative acronym for ISIS. "The final objective -- to enter and clear the city -- will be underway soon."



Peshmerga and coalition unity

Reclaiming Sinjar is one big step toward dividing the "caliphate" that ISIS claims it is establishing across the region.



The artery that passes through the town links the Iraqi city of Mosul -- ISIS' prized possession -- with cities it holds in Syria.



Paton Walsh said the highway was a key goal for the Kurdish fighters, who were equipped with vehicles ranging from pickup trucks to armored Humvees.



"One of the targets of this offensive is the highway that runs through Sinjar, known as Route No. 47 to many. Now that's very important, not only of course because of what it does to liberate the population of Sinjar -- those who've not fled ISIS rule having endured it now for over a year -- but also because it is a vital supply route towards Mosul, another key target of any future coalition offensive," he said.



About 1.5 million people still live in Mosul, where prices are rising and activists report hunger.



The U.S.-backed coalition said "Operation Free Sinjar" was aimed at clearing ISIS from Sinjar and seizing portions of Highway 47.



"By controlling Highway 47, which is used by Da'ish to transport weapons, fighters, illicit oil, and other commodities that fund their operations, the Coalition intends to increase pressure on Da'ish and isolate their components from each other," it said in a statement. Da'ish is the Arabic acronym for ISIS.