BAGHDAD (AP) -- A senior Kurdish military official says his forces have retaken two towns from the Sunni militants that have seized large parts of northern Iraq.<br />
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Brig. Gen. Shirko Fatih said Sunday the Kurdish fighters were able to push the militants of the Islamic State group out of the villages of Makhmour and al-Gweir.<br />
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The retaking of the two towns in Nineveh province is significant because it is the first victory by the Kurdish forces, known as peshmerga, that until now have been in retreat.<br />
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Radical Sunni fighters seized Mosul in June and then went on to take even more towns, sending tens of thousands of minorities fleeing into the Kurdish-controlled region.
