Tensions high on the new Iraq frontline

We were on the road on the outskirts of Mosul – the Islamic State headquarters – when we were stopped at a Peshmerga command post.

It was manned by a dozen soldiers when guns were drawn.

We took cover and watched as soldiers from the same unit argued.

No shots were fired, but that’s how high tensions are on this new frontline.

Kurdish soldiers had just reclaimed a strategic mountain.

They clutched the weapons they say they used to kill 25 militants and take six men hostage.

They say they will treat those captured as prisoners of war and interrogate them to get information on ISIS tactics.

Thousands of Iraqi Yazidis fled here last month after ISIS took control.

Their homes are empty and surrounded by soldiers, who found mobile phones used to detonate bombs.

The advantage of taking or seizing a mountain is that you can see down into the distance where fighters could be exposed. It does, however, make you a target.

A multi-national fightback continues as Syrian warplanes bombed ISIS targets in the country’s north.

It’s given Peshmerga fighters a boost and they’re vowing to push on.