Iraqi, Kurdish forces retake Mosul Dam

Airstrikes by the United States on various targets and positions of the Islamic State have enabled Kurdish pesh merga and Iraqi Special Forces to retake control of the Mosul Dam, one of the most critical pieces of infrastructure in all of Iraq.

CNN reports that 35 different airstrikes paved the way for the Kurdish and Iraqi forces. They were carried out by a combination of fighters, bombers, and drones. They destroyed 90 different targets including vehicles, various equipment, and strategic positions.

The Mosul Dam is so important because it provides a great deal of electricity to many of the communities in northern Iraq. There were also concerns that the terrorists of the Islamic state may intentionally blow up the dam, sending an enormous and lethal wave of water toward Baghdad. The wave would have made countless crops and fields useless as well as inundated entire villages. The death toll from such an action would have been astronomical.

If such an attack were to occur, it would not be the firs time that IS decided to use a dam as a weapon. After seizing control of the Fallujah Dam, IS fighters opened the dam's locks, washing away villages

CNN reports that President Obama hailed the advances, and that more cooperation between Kurdish and Iraqi Army forces would result in even stronger support from the United States in terms of material and airstrikes.

CNN also points out that while the immediate threat posed to the dam by IS troops may have been ameliorated, other concerns remain. Of particular note is the sediment upon which the dam is built. It is mostly desert sand, rather than the hard rock foundations needed to ensure a dam's long-term survival.

During the invasion of Iraq, U.S. Army engineers discovered that the dam was particularly susceptible to erosion. A number of sinkholes have also been recorded near the dam, increasing these concerns.