Rebel threat to blow up Iraq's Mosul Dam and flood some of country's biggest cities

show ad

The moment an enraged woman is dragged off a US Airways flight after yelling abuse at passengers and screaming at police
Rural town stunned after popular high school field hockey star, 17, collapses and dies suddenly after suffering fatal blood clot
Israeli official calls for concentration camps in Gaza and 'the conquest of the entire Gaza Strip, and annihilation of all fighting forces and their supporters'
Ex-Christian radio host admits he handcuffed a 12-year-old boy to a motel bed, raped him and photographed sex acts
Air Force Academy football players 'raped, did drugs and cheated' while officials looked the other way, claims new report
'God has a call on my life': U.S. doctor infected with Ebola explains WHY he moved his family to Liberia in a powerful sermon as it's revealed he's 'improving' after 24 hours in Atlanta hospital
Is this America’s most pampered city - or just the cheapest? How Green Bay, Wisconsin spends more than New York on beauty treatments – using vouchers
Widow who tried to have adopted Chinese daughter cut from $250million fortune 'accuses ex-husband's groundskeeping company of $3million rip-off'
EXCLUSIVE - We ran for our lives: Husband of Sudanese woman sentenced to death for marrying a Christian reveals how 'Agents of Fear' beat them at the airport before their escape
'He thrives off conflict': Retired cop who dealt with Nathaniel Kibby for two decades speaks out as the 34-year-old is arrested for kidnapping 15-year-old Abby Hernandez
Did Texas kill an innocent man? New evidence emerges that informant lied on witness stand about father executed for burning three kids to death in fire
Teen, 17, becomes second to die from drug overdose during Maryland’s ‘Mad Decent Block Party’ concert
Pictured: Family of five including three young daughters found shot dead in their Virginia home in murder-suicide
Australian couple identified as Gammy's parents deny the abandoned baby is theirs as surrogate mother swears to care for him as her own child
'Dear (CUSTOMER NAME)': United Airlines forgets to fill in the blanks in response to passenger complaint in world's least sincere apology letter
Number of unaccompanied minors crossing into U.S. tops 60,000 as federal facilities overflow and private shelters receive millions of taxpayer dollars to care for them
Revealed: U.S. sent Latin youth into Cuba undercover to provoke opposition to the government
'I was missing a part of me': Heartwarming moment Marine sergeant is reunited with his military dog Belle after serving together in Afghanistan
Mystery of the Nazca Lines deepens: Gales and sandstorms reveal geoglyphs of a 'snake and llama' in the Peruvian desert
Japan to launch military space force in 2019: Fleet will protect Earth from cosmic junk and prevent satellites being destroyed
Will the next iPad Air be more of the same? 'Leaked images of Apple's next-generation tablet' reveal just minor tweaks to its microphone and controls
Body of fugitive featured on The Hunt who fled after his wife and two daughters were found murdered is discovered in California woods
Terrifying moment out-of-control jetski hurtled towards woman posing on beach before smashing into another jetski
American government worker jailed for 15 years for setting up Internet in Cuba has lost hope and is planning suicide in prison, his lawyer has warned

Islamist group inflicts first major defeat on Kurdish forces since June
Advance also saw them snatch an oil field and three more towns
Flood threat could give Sunni fighters a key bargaining chip in negotiations

Published: 19:50 EST, 3 August 2014 | Updated: 05:04 EST, 4 August 2014

102

View
comments

Militants could flood some of Iraq's major cities by blowing up the country's biggest dam, it was feared last night.

Fighters from the Islamic State jihadist group seized control of the Mosul Dam yesterday after an offensive lasting barely 24 hours.

Its capture could prove a turning point in the growing civil war in the country.

A file picture shows the Mosul Dam on the River Tigris: Fighters from the Islamic State jihadist group seized control of the Mosul Dam yesterday, a victory which could prove a turning point in Iraq's growing civil war

The flood threat could give the Sunni fighters a key bargaining point in their bid to topple the Shi'ite-led government of prime minister Nuri al-Maliki.

The fighters from Islamic State, formerly known as ISIS, also took over an oilfield and three more towns after inflicting their first major defeat on Kurdish forces since sweeping through the region in June.

The Islamists overwhelmed Kurdish forces in Zumar after attacking from three directions in pick-up trucks mounted with weapons, and then hoisted their black flags, a ritual that usually precedes mass executions of their captured opponents.

More...

'Inside the apostates' HQ': The Islamic State posted this picture of one of its masked fighters holding up a pistol and sitting at the desk of the mayor of Sinjar

On its Twitter feed, the Islamic State posted a picture of one of its masked fighters holding up a pistol and sitting at the abandoned desk of the mayor of Sinjar. Behind him was the image of a famous Kurdish guerilla leader.

In a statement on its website, The militants said their fighters had killed scores of Kurdish fighters.

'Hundreds fled leaving vehicles and a huge number of weapons and munitions and the brothers control many areas,' Islamic State said.

'The fighters arrived in the border triangle between Iraq, Syria and Turkey,' it said.

The group poses the biggest challenge to the stability of OPEC member Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.

Since thousands of Iraqi soldiers fled the Islamic State offensive, Shi'ite militias and Kurdish fighters have been seen as a critical line of defence against the militants, who have threatened to march on Baghdad.

But yesterday's battles have called into question the effectiveness of the Kurdish fighters and have increased pressure on Iraqi leaders to form a power-sharing government capable of countering the Islamic State.

The group has systematically blown up Shi'ite mosques and shrines in territory it has seized, but so far its drive to reach Baghdad has stalled near the town of Samarra, 62 miles north of the capital.

Islamic State has been trying to consolidate its gains, setting its sights on strategic towns near oil fields, as well as border crossings with Syria so that it can move easily back and forth and transport supplies.