Iraqi, Kurdish forces try to recapture Islamic State-held towns

Members of the Kurdish security forces take part during an intensive security deployment after clashes with militants of the Islamic State, formerly known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), in Jalawla, Diyala province August 12, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi government forces and Kurdish peshmerga fighters attempted on Friday to recapture two towns in the north from Islamic State militants, security sources said.

The Kurdish forces, backed by U.S. airpower, took one district near the eastern entrance to Jalawla, 115 km (70 miles) northeast on Baghdad, the site of weeks of clashes, the sources said.