US warplanes continue attacks around the Sinjar district, in northwestern Iraq, claiming to have weakened ISIS in an area where Kurdish Peshmerga forces are trying to seize new territory.

The momentum seems to be shifting away from the Peshmerga today, however, for after taking Mount Sinjar and parts of the town of Sinjar in the past few days, they are now facing heavy ISIS resistance and not making significant gains.

West of Mosul, Sinjar is a particularly valuable target for the Peshmerga, as it allows them to pressure the largest ISIS city in Iraq from multiple directions. It also gives them access to Yazidi allies.

ISIS, by contrast, is keen to hold Sinjar District, as it gives them direct links from Mosul into neighboring Syria, where they also hold massive amounts of territory. Without the district, Mosul’s primary supply line is from the south, in Anbar Province.