The Sunday development comes as local news outlets in Erbil report that the Kurdish Peshmerga troops are engaged in fierce battles with the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorists for control of the district.
The Kurdish forces reportedly launched the offensive after capturing the Ain Zala oilfields just outside of Zumar on Wednesday.
Peshmerga fighters also retook the strategic town of Mount Batana , overlooking the Yazidi region of Zumar.
Following the recent gains, the Takfiri terrorists set ablaze at least three oil wells before retreating from positions lost to the advancing Kurdish forces.
Iraqi Kurdish forces have recently recaptured seven villages from the grip of the ISIL Takfiri militants near a strategic dam in the northern city of Mosul after being supplied with new armaments.
Meanwhile, Iraqi armed forces have launched a major strike against the ISIL terrorists’ siege on the Turkmen Shia town of Amerli, north of the capital Baghdad.
Thousands of Shia fighters and Kurdish Peshmergas took part in the operation on Saturday to lift the ISIL-imposed blockade of the town, home to 15,000 Shia Turkmen.
Several villages have been freed by the Iraqi forces while advancing towards the town.
Iraqi combat aircraft have also been targeting the Takfiri positions since the forces started mobilizing against the ISIL terrorists there.
NTJ/NJF