With air strikes on the horizon, Kurdish forces are moving in.
With the help of the U.S.-led coalition, the forces free village after village in northern Iraq.
On their advance, the fighters say they've captured a major supply line used by Islamic State to link Mosul with Syria.
The Sunni militant group swept through parts of Syria and Iraq last summer, but peshmerga forces are regaining ground.
(SOUNDBITE) (Kurdish) MAJOR GENERAL MANSUR BARZANI, SAYING:
"The brave peshmerga force of Kurdistan have launched today a multi-pronged attack in the area west and east of Mosul Dam to clear it from Daesh. Thank God we managed to recapture the most part of the area. The peshmerga force are now combing the area for remaining members of Daesh who are left with only two options- either to be killed or to flee, they cannot stay in the area."
As the forces blast their way into IS territory, bulldozers and more troops follow behind, building banks and trenches to secure their gains.
But with expansive tracts of open land and a long border with Syria, the Kurds are struggling to deal IS a decisive blow to strangle their remaining outposts.
