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The American-backed offensive to recapture Iraq’s biggest dam stalled Monday, as fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham rigged part of the area with booby traps and remotely triggered bombs.

Whilst a series of air strikes by American F-18 fighter jets reportedly sent most of the jihadists fleeing from the central parts of Mosul dam, a network of landmines and planted explosives they left behind impeded Kurdish ground forces from recapturing the strategically vital terrain.

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“The jihadists have escaped from their positions beside the water pumps – the most important levers for the dam,” said Gen Kawa Kawani, the spokesman for the Kurdish special forces. “But we cannot enter the area because of the explosives.”

Kurdish peshmerga, Iraqi government troops and America joined forces over the weekend in an offensive to regain control of Mosul hydroelectric dam on the Tigris, a structure that provides water and electricity to hundreds of thousands of Iraqis in the region.