WASHINGTON/BAGHDAD: US military forces conducted five airstrikes against Islamic State targets near the embattled Syrian city of Kobani and with the help of partner nations another 12 separate strikes in Iraq, the US Central Command said on Sunday.

“In Syria five air strikes near Kobani destroyed seven IS vehicles and an ISIL building,” Central Command said in a statement, using another acronym for IS.

In Iraq nine airstrikes were made around the strategic Mosul Dam and three airstrikes southeast of Fallujah.

“Among the coalition nations conducting air strikes in Iraq are the US, France, United Kingdom, Australia, Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands. Coalition nations conducting air strikes in Syria include the US, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, and Bahrain,” Central Command said.

Iraqi soldiers meanwhile retook control of a town seized previously by IS militants, said an Iraqi official and state-run TV, a rare victory for Iraqi security forces that have been battling to regain areas lost to the militants.

The provincial official said that government forces entered Jurf Al-Sakhar, which fell to fighters from the IS group in late July.

Col. Muthana Khalid, spokesman of the Babil provincial police, said the battle over the town left dozens of militants dead or wounded.

“Our soldiers raised the Iraqi flag over government offices and buildings in the town. It is another victory achieved against the terrorists,” Khalid added.

The town, 50 km south of the capital, is part of a predominantly Sunni ribbon that runs just south of Baghdad.

State-run TV showed footage of Iraqi soldiers walking near Jurf Al-Sakhar police station and the municipal building. Also, explosive experts were shown detonating some roadside bombs planted by the insurgents in order to delay the advance of the Iraqi forces.

The IS group captured large swaths of territory in western and northern Iraq in an offensive earlier this year, plunging the country into its worst crisis since US troops left at the end of 2011.