Dozen Homes: Opening Phase and Booby-Trapped Explosives

dozen homes: By the end of the day Kurdish forces had retaken some 200 square kilometres , according to the president of Iraq Kurdistan region, according to Brandon Sun. Peshmerga commanders on the ground estimated the offensive retook nine villages and pushed the frontline with IS back eight kilometres . But the forces' hold appeared fragile and the gains largely symbolic. Iraq Kurdish peshmerga fighters led the initial assault, advancing slowly across open fields littered with booby-trapped explosives as plumes of black and orange smoke rose overhead — the opening phase of an unprecedented campaign expected to take weeks if not months, and involve more than 25,000 troops. Some of the villages were so small they comprised no more than a few dozen homes, and most were abandoned. Aid groups have warned of a mass exodus of civilians that could overwhelm refugee camps. And though some troops were less than 30 kilometres from Mosul edges, it was unclear how long it would take to reach the city itself, where more than 1 million people still live. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.