Kurdish forces 'retake Mosul dam'

[Zipgun]

20. The Peshmerga are fighters, but ISIS had an advantage in equipment taken from the

fleeing Iraq army. Cenk Uygur had a good breakdown on Iraq a short time ago. In general the three main ethnic/tribal groups will not defend area's they don't consider theirs- other ethnic/tribal areas. So the Shite troops from southern Iraq had low morale and little interest in defending areas of "Sunni" Iraq. Of course this was terribly short sighted of them, as now ISIS has all their equipment. The areas of northern Iraq that the Kurds are fighting for are areas the Kurds consider theirs. If ISIS keeps going south they are likely to face much stiffer resistance from Shite troops who will now be defending their "home" territory. Victory has swollen ISIS's ranks with local Sunni tribes siding with them, but this is likely mostly a temporary thing. Between the harsh punishments and numbers of foreign fighters in ISIS, there is not a lot to keep them allied long term. The local Sunnis really want autonomy or independence, ISIS's fanatical goals have to be sustained with continued victories. I think it is very likely if concessions are made to the Sunni tribes that ISIS will end up with a small portion of Iraq near Syria and a portion of Syria.