Iraq Kurds launch major offensive to retake Sinjar from IS

Iraqi Kurdish forces backed by US-led strikes launched a major operation Thursday to retake the town of Sinjar from the Islamic State group and cut a key supply line to Syria. Severing the supply line would hamper the jihadists' ability to move fighters and supplies between northern Iraq and Syria, two countries where IS has overrun significant territory. "The attack began at 7:00 am (0400 GMT), and the (Kurdish) peshmerga forces advanced on several axes to liberate the centre of the Sinjar dist