Mosul Dam director refutes claim of ISIS seizure

BAGHDAD, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- Abdul Khaliq al-Dabbagh, director of the Mosul Dam, refuted reports Monday that the dam had been seized by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

Dabbagh instead hailed the Kurdish Peshmerga forces for successfully repelling the weekend assault.

ISIS temporarily gained control of an employee housing complex at the dam, but were pushed back by the Peshmerga.

A Kurdish Peshmerga colonel reportedly gave an erroneous account of the ISIS seizure to CNN on Sunday.

The dam, located on the Tigris River, provides electricity to the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, and is Iraq's largest dam.

"If you control the Mosul Dam, you can threaten just about anybody," Middle East Forum president Daniel Pipes told CNN.

If ISIS were in control of the dam, the Islamist militants could orchestrate a massive flood that would have reverberations as far south as Baghdad, 280 miles away. "It's a horrendous prospect," Pipes observed.

For now, the dam remains protected.