Iraqi security forces have regained control of the area of Jurf al-Sakhar , a town south of Baghdad , Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Saturday , as they battle to keep ISIS militants in check . In a post on Facebook , al-Abadi saluted the efforts made by Iraqi forces to liberate the area and said they `` have inflicted a strong blow to the terrorist organization ISIS . '' Jurf al-Sakhar is on the outskirts of Hilla and is a mixed Sunni-Shiite area . The town was also the site of intense fighting in June between Iraqi forces and ISIS over the control of a military facility , where an infantry brigade is based , Iraqi security officials said . Farther north , Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces have liberated the northern Iraqi town of Zumar , west of the Mosul Dam , and its surroundings , according to the ruling party of the Kurdish Regional Government and Iraqi state TV . `` Zumar is controlled by the Peshmerga forces . ISIS completely evacuated it , '' Sheikh Ahmad Mohammad , a Peshmerga commander , told Kurdish news agency Rudaw . Specialized teams subsequently moved into the town to defuse all rigged homes and booby traps that ISIS left behind , Peshmerga operations commander in Mosul Sa'eed Mamzayn told CNN . Peshmerga forces also regained control of 10 villages around Zumar and killed 81 ISIS fighters , Heman Hawrami , head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party Foreign Relations Office , said via Twitter . Airstrikes pummel ISIS . The U.S. military said 10 coalition airstrikes had been carried out against ISIS forces Friday and Saturday west of the Mosul Dam , destroying five ISIS units , a building used by the group and several fighting positions . Another coalition airstrike struck a large ISIS unit southeast of the Mosul Dam , according to the U.S. Central Command . Altogether , 22 airstrikes have targeted the Sunni extremist group in Iraq since Friday . ISIS took control of Zumar back in August when Peshmerga troops were forced to pull out after being surrounded by ISIS militants and being isolated from any support , Kurdistan Democratic Party regional official Ismat Rajab told CNN . Kobani awaits Peshmerga reinforcements . News of the reported gains against ISIS in Iraq comes as Kurdish forces in Syria continue to battle ISIS for control of the Kurdish town of Kobani , known in Arabic as Ayn al-Arab . Clashes could be heard in the border town Saturday , but the Kurdish defenders appear to be holding their ground against ISIS as the militants seek to regain territory . There 's been heavy fighting this week around Tal Shair , a strategic hill to the west of Kobani , as well as to the south and east of the city . Turkey has said it will allow Kurdish Peshmerga forces from Iraq to pass through its territory into Syria to join the fight for Kobani , which lies on the Syrian-Turkish border . Saleh Muslim , chair of the PYD , a Kurdish poitical party in northern Syria , told CNN that the Peshmerga and his party finalized their pact Friday night and fighters could enter Kobani Saturday evening or Sunday . The precise timing is unclear and dependent on part on Turkish permission , he said , adding that the armed wing of the PYD may also influence the timing in Kobani , the site of fierce fighting . As many as 150 fighters could be allowed in , but it 's not yet clear exactly how many or when the reinforcements will arrive . One fighter in Kobani told CNN they could come as soon as Saturday night . There was one U.S. airstrike in Syria from Friday to Saturday , against an ISIS artillery piece near Kobani , U.S. Central Command said .
Iraq : Soldiers clear booby traps from once ISIL - occupied Iraqi town . PM says Iraqi security forces have captured Jurf al - Arab , south of Baghdad . U.S. military says it has carried out 22 airstrikes in Iraq since Friday . Kurdish fighters hold the Syrian town of Kobani against ISIL , await reinforcements .