ISLAMIC State (Isis) insurgents lost ground in Iraq over the weekend, as the Iraqi army, Shi’ite militias and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters all reported victories over them.

Colonel Muthana Khalid, a spokesman for the Babil provincial police, said soldiers had “raised the Iraqi flag over government offices and buildings” in the Sunni town of Jurf al-Sakhar.

Mr Khalid described it as “another victory achieved against the terrorists” and said dozens of Isis fighters had been killed.

Jurf al-Sakhar, which fell to Isis in July, is part of a strip of mostly Sunni-populated land south of Baghdad.

Isis has imposed a reign of terror on territory it has seized, murdering Shi’ite, Yazidi and Christian residents and blowing up ancient shrines, mosques and churches.

But Shi’ite militias fighting the Iraqi army have been accused of indiscriminate massacres of Sunni Muslims by way of revenge in areas they seize, leading to residents of many cities dreading the arrival of Isis and government forces equally.

The United States reported yesterday that it had launched air strikes north and west of Baghdad around Mosul, Fallujah and Baiji, destroying armed vehicles belonging to Isis.

And in the country’s north, Kurdish forces said that over the weekend they had recaptured “several” towns and villages that had been under Isis occupation.

A five-pronged assault on the town of Zumar near Mosul was apparently successful but encountering “fierce” resistance, according to Kurdish intelligence officials, with Isis increasingly dropping direct military confrontation for the tactics of its al-Qaida parent group.

Car bombs killed at least seven Kurdish soldiers yesterday while bombs also targeted civilians in Baghdad, killing at least five people.

The capture of Zumar is considered key to disrupting Isis supply lines and Kurdish officials said if the town could be secured an offensive to relieve the besieged Yazidi community on Mount Sinjar could be next.

But Isis remains in control of huge swathes of Iraqi and Syrian territory and the US military noted last week it would be “months” before either Iraq or US-sponsored groups in Syria could mount a serious land offensive against the organisation.

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