The road to Hassan al-Sham, a strategic village on the dusty plains between the northern Iraqi cities of Mosul and Arbil, bears witness to the heavy fighting between Islamic State (IS) and Kurdish peshmerga fighters.

Deserted villages along the way have been reduced to rubble, mangled carcasses of bombed cars and tanks flank the pathes, and the bridges near Hassan al-Sham have been destroyed. Now, the only way to cross it is to ford the river.

Kurdish peshmerga forces last week recaptured this village in a strategic victory in their fight against IS fighters. They were aided by US air strikes, which targeted some of the jihadist vehicles along the way.

The peshmerga fighters are now consolidating their gains, but it’s a painstaking, dangerous business – and the battle is not over.

The jihadists blew up the bridges leading to these villages to prevent a frontal assault, and have left booby-trapped vehicles and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in their wake.

Despite the growing international support and arms supplies to Kurdish fighters, peshmerga commanders on the frontlines have been contending with scarce resources. The bomb-disposal team often simply detonates the charge left behind by the jihadists.

“It's very difficult,” says Commander Darya from the peshmerga bomb disposal squad. “We don't have any signal-jamming equipment. We don't have any armoured vehicles, or body armour. We just have our uniform. If it blows up, we're done for.”

Peshmerga fighters may have ousted IS from these villages, but the enemy is still within firing range.

“There’s the village of Bartalla, it's controlled by the Islamic State fighters,” says Major Raed Harki, pointing to a clump of structures in the distance. “That factory is in the middle of no-man's land between us and them. At the beginning of the battle, a suicide bomber blew up a tanker amongst our fighters. We lost several men.”

On this side of the frontline, fires are still raging in the village of Hassan al-Sham.

Downstream of the ruined bridges, the peshmerga are building new crossing points – a vital step as the Kurds hurry more troops and badly needed supplies to their forces at the front.

Click on the video for the full report.

France24