There are conflicting reports about whether Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and Iraqi troops have fully retaken Mosul dam from Islamic state (IS) militants.
Militants from the Islamic State group had seized the Mosul Dam on August 7, giving them access and control of enormous power and water reserves and threatening to deny those resources to much of Iraq
The militants’ battlefield victories brought U.S. forces back into the conflict for the first time since it withdrew its troops in 2011 and reflected the growing international concern about the Sunni extremist group.
Washington launched attacks from its warplanes and drones on August 8.
Iraqi military spokesman, Lt-Gen Qassim Atta, told state TV that the dam had been “fully cleansed”.
He also said troops had been backed by a joint air patrol, but did not specify if there had been any US air strikes.
However, journalists in the area say fighting is still going on there and that jihadists had remained in control of the main gate.
An Islamic state statement also contradicted the military’s claim, saying it had repelled Kurdish fighters and inflicted heavy losses
It also said that the claim of the Iraqi government was a “mere propaganda war.”