AP, Eski Mosul :An unarmed Sunni Arab man walked along a road in a patch of northern Iraq newly liberated from Islamic State extremists, holding a white surrender flag – a signal to Kurdish fighters that he is not a militant. Cars drove by, a similar white banner flying from their windows.As they retake territory from Islamic State militants, Iraqi Kurdish fighters have found surprising ambivalence in areas they freed from the jihadis’ oppressive rule. Locals have swiftly shaken off the imposed Islamic lifestyle – but as Sunnis, from the same ethnic group as the militants, many are nonetheless bracing for treatment as collaborators.For their part, the Kurdish peshmerga troops are suspicious about why the locals chose to stay on when the Islamic State conquered the area in a blitz last year. An Associated Press team travelling with the Kurds found the road to Mosul, a coveted prize in the battle for Iraq, strewn with suspicion and fear.The recent Kurdish push secured several towns and villages along a critical junction that connects the town of Tal Afar to the city of Mosul – two of the IS group’s biggest strongholds in Iraq. The artery, which eventually leads to Syria, has been a vital supply line for militants transporting weapons, goods and people across the lawless Iraq-Syria border.
