Kurdish Peshmerga forces routed Islamic State (IS) militants from a border crossing between Iraq and Syria, and won the support of one of the biggest Sunni tribes.  It’s the biggest victory against IS since the beginning of the US bombing campaign.

IS still controls other border crossings, but the Rabia crossing is one of the more important ones, and taking it away from IS will make it more difficult on the terrorists to operate on both sides of the border.  Kurds from both sides of the border engaged IS in the battle that began before dawn on Tuesday, but the alliance of Sunni fighters from the Shammar tribe could prove as important a development as the advance itself.

“Rabia is completely liberated.  All of the Shammar are with the Peshmerga and there is full cooperation between us,” said tribal spokesman Abdullah Yawar.

Peshmerga troops backed by artillery and warplanes were also attacking Zumar, about 60 kilometers northwest of Mosul.  They’ve also taken several villages surrounding Daquq, a town south of Kirkuk that IS has controlled since 10 June, and in Diyala province.  Across the border in Syria, Kurds and factions of the Free Syrian Army battled IS near the town of Kobane.