Kurds Push Attack in North Iraq as Maliki Clings to Power
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Kurdish forces fought to retake positions overrun last week by Islamic State fighters in northern Iraq, as Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki sought to cling to power even after losing the backing of key ally Iran.
Kurdish peshmerga troops, bolstered by U.S. airstrikes, fought the Sunni militants near the town of Sinjar, according to Nineveh provincial council member Hisham al-Brefkani. The push came as France said it would supply the Kurds with weapons, and the U.S. and Britain readied plans to rescue ethnic Yazidis trapped by the insurgents in the mountains of northern Iraq.