The Islamic State has launched a series of new attacks across Iraq, killing dozens of people. According to Al Jazeera, at least 16 Kurdish peshmerga soldiers were killed today in an ISIS offensive on the Mosul Dam. Other attacks were reported in the town of Sinjar and another flashpoint area in Diyala province. The Pentagon says the U.S.-led coalition carried out 12 strikes on ISIS positions inside Iraq overnight. General John Allen, the U.S. envoy for the global coalition, said Iraq is on the front lines of the campaign against ISIS following the recent attacks in Paris and other Western cities.

Gen. John Allen: “As we saw so tragically in Paris last week, Iraq is on the front lines of a global conflict. I was in Paris last week meeting with French and European counterparts as the crisis there was unfolding, and it was a stark reminder that Daesh’s dark, violent ideology has a long reach. Even before Paris, we saw terrorists inspired by Daesh wreak havoc in other capitals of the coalition — in Sydney and in Ottawa and in Brussels.”